ABBA Dolls by Matchbox

Posted on June 27, 2017 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Swedish pop legends ABBA didn’t escape the eye of the toy industry. In the 1970s, British company Matchbox launched a set of dolls based on Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Anni-Frid. The dolls measured 23 cm (9 inches approx) and came with their own costumes. Additional costumes were available to buy separately. The dolls were sold in the UK and other European countries. The below ad is from Denmark, 1978.

Denmark. 1978.

Matchbox made a great job of designing the clothes, even reproducing the famous ‘cat suits’ of Agnetha and Anni-Frid.

ABBA in cat suits, Bengt H Malmqvist. This well-known picture is taken at the Swedish Television building at Gärdet in Stockholm. Owe Sandström designed the wonderful cat suits worn by Anni-Frid and Agnetha. Photo and info taken from abbathemuseum.com

Bonus trivia: so far as TVTA is aware, ABBA is the only group with a palindromic name to score a hit with a palindromic title, namely SOS.

Toxic Crusaders

Posted on June 21, 2017 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

It’s clean up time!

Toxic Crusaders is a 1990s animated TV series based on The Toxic Avengers films. Main character Toxie is a grotesque mutant endowed with superhuman powers, who along with allies like No-zone and Major Disaster battle against villains Czar Zosta, Dr. Killemoff, Bonehead and others. Tie-ins include a Marvel comic book run, an action figure toy line and video games.

TVTA has managed to get its hands on these three terrifically toxic ads from Denmark! Big thanks to Jaltesorensen for sharing the images.

Denmark. 1992. Image supplied by Jaltesorensen.

Denmark. 1993. Image supplied by Jaltesorensen.

And this next one, very roughly translated as:

“A NEW super hero, raging in your city now”

TOXIE: Good day to all our millions of Toxic-fans!

KID: I don’t know which smells worse… Him or my diaper!

Denmark. 1993. Image supplied by Jaltesorensen.

G.I. JOE 1980s

Posted on June 20, 2017 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

A REAL AMERICAN HERO

G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by Hasbro. The original 1964 line featured 12 inch figures. In 1982 the brand was relaunched in a 3¾-inch scale along with vehicles, playsets and accessories. G.I. Joe also appeared in comic books, video games and an animated TV series.

US. Groo. 1988.

US. Dazzler. 1982.

US. The Defenders. 1983.

US. The New Mutants. 1985.

US. Nth Man. 1989.

France. Cora Christmas catalogue. 1988.

G.I. Joe. Speelboom Club Journal. 1987.

1986. US.

NINTENDO… taxis, love hotels and video games!

Posted on June 16, 2017 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

The Japanese company Nintendo was founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi. The company originally produced hand-crafted playing cards. By the early 1960s several other ventures had been tried out including a taxi company and a love hotel!

Nintendo first ventured into the video game industry in the 1970s. In the 1980s they introduced us to their classic Game & Watch hand-held games and soon-to-become-iconic characters like Donkey Kong, Zelda and the Super Mario Bros. Other early Nintendo products include Game Boy, the NES and SNES consoles, and a co-ownership of the Pokémon franchise. Nintendo continues to be one of the leading innovaters in the electronic games industry today.

Warning: awesome alert code red. This post contains more than 50 images of Nintendo related goodness. Enjoy.

Die Cut N°4. 1994. US.

Hawk & Dove N°11. 1990. US.

Taito titles for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The Young All Stars. 1988.

Zanac and Lunar Pool for the Nintendo and NES. The Young All-Stars. 1988.

Hawk & Dove N°11. 1990. US.

Detective Comics N°651. 1992. US.

US. Groo. 1990.

US. Dark Hawk. 1991.

Gameboy. Denmark. 1991. Image supplied by Jaltesorensen.

US. DC Starman.1989.

USA. Groo. 1989.

USA. Groo. 56. 1989.

France. Pif Gadget. 1983.

US. Groo. 1988.

US. Groo. 1989.

USA. Groo. 54. 1989.

US. Starman. 1989.

US. Nth Man. 1989.

US. Groo. 1988.

US. Groo. 1989.

Cloak n Dagger. 1989.

US. Groo. 1990.

Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles Nintendo. Denmark. 1991. Image supplied by Jaltesorensen.

US. Groo. 1989.

US. Groo. 1990.

US. Firestorm. 1989.

US. Nth Man. 1989.

US. Groo. 1990.

US. Groo. 1989.

US. Nth Man. 1989.

US. Groo. 1991.

US. Starman. 1989.

US. Groo. 1988.

US. Groo. 1989.

Denmark. Anders And & Co. 1983.

UK. Hamleys Catalogue. 1983.

France. Pif Gadget. 1984.

USA. Groo 49. 1989.

US. Firestorm. 1989.

US. Groo. 1989.

US. Nth Man. 1989.

US. New Universe. 1988.

Hawk & Dove N°11. 1990. US.

De Speelboom N°3. November. 1987. Netherlands.

Speelboom Club Journal 5. 1987. Netherlands.

Kool Aid Nintendo offer. The Young All-Stars. 1988.

For the complete rundown of Nintendo products from the ’80s to present see the official site: Nintendo

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Posted on June 12, 2017 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Welcome to TVTA’s vintage assortment of TMNT merchandise ads showing toys, video games and household goods!

Named after Italian Renaissance painters Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Rapheal, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are four anthropomorphic friends trained in the art of Ninjutsu (not to be confused with the Teenage Figural Ninja Symbolists Dali, Duchamp, Miro and Ernst – who battled underworld criminals while painting strange landscapes).

The Ninja Turtles originated in a 1984 American comic. An animated TV series came in 1987 followed by further series and feature films. Playmates Toys are responsible for the original toy figures and later Bandai. The turtles also appeared in a number of video game titles as well as promotions for merchandise ranging from dental care to breakfast cereal.

US. Groo. 1989.

Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles Nintendo. Denmark. 1991. Image supplied by Jaltesorensen.

Gameboy. Denmark. 1991. Image supplied by Jaltesorensen.

US. Groo. 1990.

Ninja or Hero? Censored in Europe

Due to strict censorship policies in some European countries, the name “Ninja” had to be replaced with “Hero” because of the violent associations of the word “ninja”. This meant that products sold in these countries had to be undergo packaging and advertising changes. By 2003 these censorship policies ceased and our four friends could once again become “ninjas”

Denmark. 1990. Image supplied by Jaltesorenson.

Denmark. 1992. Image supplied by Jaltesorenson.

Denmark. 1990. Image supplied by Jaltesorenson.

Denmark. 1991. Image supplied by Jaltesorenson.

France. Pif Gadget. 1991.

Hawk & Dove N°11. 1990. US.

France. Tortues BD. 1991.

US. Nth Man. 1989.

Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles Turtle Power and Turtles to the Rescue sets. Scalextric catalogue, 1989, UK.

Thanks for looking 🙂

ZEROIDS – workers of the future

Posted on June 11, 2017 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

“From the planet Zero come the incredible workers of the future – grabbing, pinching, clawing, carrying, attracting, throwing, pushing, pulling and hauling. From turret to track they are realistically simulated in awesome detail.”

I love how in 1972 the Ideal toy company was using the word “awesome” to describe one of its products – awesome being a word heavily in use today to describe… well… awesome things. Things like toy robots. Things like Zeroids!

Zeroids was a line of battery-operated motorised robots able to propel themselves across surfaces. They appeared on toy shelves in 1967 and underwent a rebrand in the late 70s and more recently in 2016 by the Toyfinity company. The original robot characters in the line are Zobor the Bronze Transporter, Zintar the Silver Explorer, and Zerak the Blue Destroyer.

UK. Ideal catalogue page. 1972.

RIP Adam West, my first Batman

Posted on June 10, 2017 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

First thought, shit no! Then a smile because he was my Batman as a kid and somedays you just can't get rid of a bomb!
RIP #AdamWest #Batman pic.twitter.com/P1avLEV94u

— VintageToyAdvertiser (@vintagetoyad) June 10, 2017

I just heard that Adam West, the actor who played Batman in the 1960s TV series and 1966 feature film, has died aged 88. My initial thought was shit, no! Then for some reason a big smile came to my face. And I think the reason for that is because Adam West’s Batman was my Batman as a kid, and not only managed to help embroider my childhood with adventures, crazy storylines, cool characters and vehicles, and the best secret lair ever… but also made me happy.

Batman was one of the shows I looked forward to watching the most, and whenever the feature film was aired on TV I made sure I’d watch it – the scene of the shark and the Batcopter being my favourite! Looking back I can see how the show was played for a decent amount of campy laughs – a lot of which would’ve escaped the attention of my kid-self. I’m a fan of what Burton and Nolan did with the character and I enjoy some of the comic books, but in many ways my sense of who, or what, Batman is will always be shaped by Adam West’s Caped Crusader.

Farewell old chum.

Photo of Adam West as Batman from the television series. Public Domain.

By ovoviviparous, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16016209

The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Showcasing 20th century print advertising and pop culture curiosities. Specialities: toys, fashion, comic books, movies and art. One of the most comprehensive archives you'll find on the net. Established 2011.

Monthly Archives: June 2017

ABBA Dolls by Matchbox

Toxic Crusaders

It’s clean up time!

G.I. JOE 1980s

NINTENDO… taxis, love hotels and video games!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Ninja or Hero? Censored in Europe

ZEROIDS – workers of the future

RIP Adam West, my first Batman

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It’s clean up time!

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Ninja or Hero? Censored in Europe

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