Jaws / les Dents de la Mer… missing adverts, missing fingers, and TVTA’s 400th advert!

"The teeth of the sea against the fingers of the hand"

We were looking for something a bit special to mark the 400th advert published here on TVTA, so the office staff and Wooof wasted no time in searching our extensive archives (suitcases, empty cereal boxes, back of the sofa, pressed between pages of random 1980s annuals)… when suddenly Wooof came across this …

Version N°1. Pif Gadget. 1981. France.

This is the French version of the Game of Jaws game originally released by Ideal in 1975 and known in France as Les Dents de La Mer (the teeth of the sea).

Here is a variation of the same advert:

Version N°2. Pif Gadget. 1981. France.

Based on the Spielberg blockbuster Jaws this was a game for between 2 and 4 players and required each player to take turns fishing out items from the mouth of the shark with a hook – before the jaws snapped shut! The items ranged from nautical things like anchors and fish bones to more grisly bits and pieces like human bones and a severed hand!

I’d love to have a go at this game. I imagine it to be similar to other nerve-jangling classics like Buckaroo and Operation.

Anyway, hope you like ad #400!

(and the 399 before it).

Thanks for looking 😉