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.

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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”

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