Tag Archives: 1980s

I need gorilla info – fast!

So I’ll just go check my preferred search engine of choice.

But back in pre-internet days, if I wanted to find out about gorillas, or leopards, or Indian elephants, I had to work for it. It usually involved a trip to the local or school library, or consultation with the hefty family encylopedia that was so heavy it required two people to lift it from the bookshelf, or questions aimed at one of my more brainier friends or relatives. Or else, if I’d have known they’d existed in 1980-something or so, I could have collected Animal Cards!

Animal Cards. This four page UK promotional leaflet from Heron Books came inside a copy of Star wars Weekly from 1980. Readers were invited to become subscribers and receive card sets and a filing case in which to store them. The cards were printed with colour photographs, facts and information, and contained four different ways of filing classification depending on your favourite category. The promotional leaflet contains a written endorsement from the World Wildlife Fund.

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Thanks for stopping by 🙂

In other gorilla news…

US. Weird War Tals. 1974.

France. Pif Gadget. 1983.

UK. Planet of the Apes and Dracula Lives. #94. 1976.

1975 Penguin UK edition of Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle.

US. The Defenders. 1977.

Danish Retro (Pt 3)

Non-toy ad Tuesday: office cats and the munchies

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“Be careful of what you put into your mouth.”

Interplanetary Federation Supermarket Customer Advice Proverb.

A TVTA Food, Drink and Snack special report!

Most office cats are content to work the bare minimum – catch mice, make tea, answer the phone, that type of thing. Not so Wooof… TVTA’s faithful feline has just spent the past three weeks down in the archives searching for vintage adverts and other retro paperwork goodies!

Any luck? I asked him as he emerged from the basement dressed in dust, cobwebs and, bizarrely, a 1980 R2-D2 Thermal Underoos set.

Yes, replied the cat, I have enough ads to keep us busy the whole of the summer. He showed me the tartan suitcase which he had lugged up the stairs. I opened it. It was full of vintage adverts. Excellent.

There are no clown adverts are there? I asked him.

Goodness, no, replied the cat.

Only, the last time we made a Non-toy ad Tuesday post, I seem to recall some very disturbing images of clowns and other odd stuff.

Don’t worry, said Wooof. It’s completely clown-free. I’ve checked. There’s nothing odd at all. Just perfectly normal food, drink and snack adverts.

You’re not lying?

I’m not lying. Now get scanning. We’ve deadlines to meet!

Righto, I replied.

—— —— —— —— —— ——

Cue sounds of scanner…

sounds like…

Stur stur smag!

Denmark. 1983.

In other disturbing news,

TV Cereal Killer caught on film.

Denmark. 1988.

Salty Spunk liquorice lozenges hit the streets…

Denmark. 1977.

Victory V. Suck it and see.

UK. Running. 1986.

Superman action strip colouring contest with Trebor chews.

UK. Star Wars Weekly. 1979.

Snit dig en Cool burger!

Denmark. 1984.

Philips kitchenware 1980s style!

UK. Mobil Gifts Catalogue. 1986.

Frisk! Stimorol chewing gum.

Denmark. Anders And & Co. 1986.

Frisk! 80s!

Denmark. 1984.

M&M’s. The milk chocolate melts in your mouth not in your hands.

US. X Factor, 1987.

US. Legion of Superheroes. 1984.

Tonimalt. French malt drink favourite with Ulysse 31 (Ulysses 31) promotion.

France. Journal de Mickey. 1983.

Another gloriously nonsensical Hostess Superhero ad! This one’s going straight into the collection Hostess Superhero ads

US. 1976.

Weetabix

UK. Prima. 1987.

Tom and Jerry get licked!

Denmark. 1983.

So eighties!

Denmark. 1988.

Soft drinks galore!

1. Fanta. Denmark. 1978.

Fast forward a couple of decades later…

Absolutely Fabulous. BBC.co.uk/abfab.

2. 7UP. Denmark. 1977.

3. Coke. UK. 1979.

4. Pepsi-Cola. Denmark. 1978.

And finally, we end this post with a giraffe. It’s not often we can say that. Or this…

5. Schwip Schwap!

If you are interested in learning more about food, drink and snacks then why not visit your local supermarket where many examples can be viewed free by the public. Don’t forget to take along your pencils and a sketch pad in case you wish to make notes and illustrations for your school project. Or why not ask the supermarket manager if you can snap a few photographs! He or she will only be too happy to oblige and may even throw in a few treats for you to take home to your parents. This post has been brought to you by TVTA and the Interplanetary Federation Supermarket Customer Advice Bureau. Best before Feb 2223. This is a free-range post and no animals were harmed. Just Ewoks. Recycle the carton when finished. Enjoy responsibly.

BUCKAROO

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The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Buckaroo is a turn-taking game of balance that inolves hooking items onto the saddle of a mule before it can ‘buck’ the items off. The toy was released in the UK by Ideal in 1970 and went on to become a global hit. Buckaroo is still sold to date and remains a popular toy.

1973 Ideal catalogue page.

UK. Ideal catalogue page. 1972

Bourico . French version of the bucking mule game, Buckaroo .

France. Pif Gadget. 1981.

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Office cat tales: this sucks

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NYHED!

This morning, Wooof came up from TVTA’s archives with a strange batch of vintage adverts.

“What you got there, Wooof?” I asked.

“Found these stuffed down the back of that old printing press,” replied the cat.

“That’s no printing press,” I said, “that’s the original TVTA office time machine, which is officially on ice until we get those replacement parts I ordered from 1928.”

“Whatever,” said the cat. “What shall I do with these ads?”

Wooof handed me the ads.

“Good grief,” I said. “Some of these ads are completely weird. No wonder they were hidden behind the time machine!”

“I dare say the previous editor intended to send them to the middle ages or somewhere,” said the cat. “Want me to shred them?”

“No. Let’s scan them double-quick, post them up, and hope no one notices! We can say it was a glitch.”

“Or fake news,” said Wooof. “If you hide them among some of our usual ads, no one will ever notice.”

“Good plan, Wooof” said I.

Cue sounds of office scanner…

… sounds like …

… stur… stur… smag…

… stur…stur… smag…

… stur… stur… smag …

NYHED!

This post was brought to you by office cats, broken time machines and Non-toy ad non-Tuesday Tuesdays.

Toy shop snap shot: Hamleys of Regent Street London W.1.

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Peter and Jane: We Have Fun. Lady Bird Books. 1964 / 2004.

Hamleys toy shop based in Regent Street, London, England, was founded in 1760 by William Hamley. It is the biggest and oldest toy shop in the world, and prides itself on selling not only traditional toys but newer toys that enter the market. Hamleys Book of Toys, Sports and Games, Christmas 1983 states

“Whilst traditional toys and dolls are as popular as ever, a vast revolution has nevertheless taken place in toyland. Electronic games and home computers have captured the imagination of children and their parents throughout the world.”

The Hamleys book goes on to announce the creation of a vast 4,000 sq. ft electronic games complex called ‘A Step Ahead’ with trained technology advisors on hand to guide customers through what surely must have been described back then as ‘video game heaven’.

Hamleys also announce another new department ‘Small World’ featuring international dolls furniture and miniatures, as well as extra space given over for their ground floor Star Wars department.

The 123 page Hamleys Christmas book is wonderfully presented with photographs and descriptive text, giving us a sense of not just what the toys looked like back in 1983 but what they did too, Enjoy the scans!

The 1983 Christmas Book of Toys, Sports and Games by Hamleys. Front and rear cover. The front ‘cover subject’ is “Toy Lady” while the back features one of Hamleys famous bears.