Barbie Birthday. Pif Gadget 627. 1981. Artwork by Mezza. If anyone knows any information on the illustrator Mezza please let me know!
Greetings vintage mates! Presenting: eight vintage adverts from French comic Pif Gadget. I was particularly pleased to get my hands on the Barbie ‘Birthday’ advert with art by the illustrator Mezza who designed a good deal of late 70s and early 80s Barbie adverts, and, despite my online searches, I still can’t find any info about.
The Action Man advert was also a treat to discover (known as Action Joe in France, and GI Joe in the US where the toy originated in 1964). Eagle-eyed readers will spot the popular ‘Eagle-Eye Action Man’ features on the below advert – quite an innovation for those of us who lovingly played with these toys back in the day.
Action Joe. Pif Gadget 529. 1979. France.
Next,
Atlantic toy soldiers, Hollywood bubble gum, Nutella, Polistil and Playmobil…
Atlantic soldiers. Pif Gadget 529. 1979. France.
Hollywood Spring Gum. Pif Gadget 599. 1980. France.
Nutella glow in the dark space stickers offer. Pif Gadget 599. 1980. France.
Polistil Ferrari Daytona. Pif Gadget 627. 1981. France.
Playmobil Color Christopher Columbus. Pif Gadget 598. 1980. France.
and lastly…
DOC JUSTICE
Docteur Benjamin Justice (Doc Justice) is a 1970s fictional comic strip hero created by the writer Jean Ollivier and artist Raffaele Carlo Marcello. Justice is not only a humanitarian doctor attached to the World Health Organization, but a multi-disciplined martial artist who travels the world to fight crime.
Doc Justice Number 19. Pif Gadget 407. 1977. France.
As always, thanks for looking!
The Vintage Toy Advertiser 
Pure gold! Did Dolly do Barbies hair?
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lol, it looks like it yes.
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Love love love love
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😊 thanks Sylvia!
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Hi TVTA, I can’t believe it….for once I can say I had ALL the objects in one of your pictures! I owned the Action Man Jeep and trailer set (and had most of the accessories exceot for the searchlight). And just in case viewers don’t know, I think that black cylinder was a “Mission Pod” that opened in two halves and you stored equipment in it ready to “drop it from a cargo plane”
EDIT: I just zoomed in closer on the picture and it says “parachute container” in French I believe….
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Hi FT, yes it’s a parachute container. So cool you had that jeep and trailer. I didn’t have that version but did have the Willy’s Jeep version and trailer that came with accessories that were a bit on the small side for Action Man I thought. I think it was made by the Cherilea company who gained the license for many of the vehicles.
I also had the motorbike and sidecar similar to the one pictured, but the German infantry version with a gun mount – so cool. My fave vehicle I had was the truck with passenger gun turret and removable flatbed cover. I also had the scout tank and the diver dinghy. My friends had the tanks and helicopters. Such cool toys! Thanks for sharing your memories.
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Hello, I was lucky as my brother had the Action Man Scorpion Tank (based on a Scimitar Scout Tank iirc and which appeared in an episode of Dr Who – The Giant Robot). I owned the same Scout Recon Car as you but in Arctic White (which I mentioned in a previous comment about a birthday cake my dad baked and took the blue light lens dome off it to use on my police car cake). And now you mention it I think my bike and sidecar was the German one as the sidecar had a hole on the “nosecone” to mount a machine gun).
One final thing, the tank tracks off the Scorpion made great Chewbacca bandoliers if you squeezed them over your head and shoulder!
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Ford…you’ve got to wear your Shelby Brothers Inc. T- shirt, grab a glass of your dynamite coctail and come to the live stream to blow that #%$¥ up!!😀
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Lol. I watched the live stream this week while drinking Martini and eating my dinner! Excellent you guys and a girlie are doing this! keep up the good work 😎
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