Tag Archives: top ten lists

Top ten toys that are freaking me out right now! (ptII)

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Pelham Puppets. FAO Schwarz 1974 1975 catalogue. US.

Greetings, vintage mates! This is a fun “part 2” to a post I made way back in 2020, in which I showcased some particularly disturbing toy adverts which were leaving me, quite frankly, completely freaked out!

yet, here I am again, once more a sucker for punishment, as I present 10 further foul examples of nightmare-inducing toy monstrosities!

As such, with my latest batch of creepy adverts, I think I’m pretty close to the stage of the below definitions:

Pediophobia or “the fear of dolls” is a specific type of phobia characterized by irrational and intense fear or worry of dolls. Pediophobia is closely related to Automatonophobia.

Automatonophobia – morbid fear of ventriloquist’s dummies, animatronic creatures, wax statues or any inanimate object that simulates a sentient being.

Is it just me… or am I the only one to feel disturbed by my post header advert for Pelham Puppets? Take your pick, each puppet may surely possess the power to ‘string you up’ and leave you suspended in fear as they torture your dangling body…

Maybe it is me.

Maybe not.

Anyway, I’m not taking any chances, and neither should you!

Be warned…

Here is my latest top ten toy adverts that are freaking me out lately…

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TVTA’s top twenty international crunchy tasty vintage cereal killer breakfast snack ads – with milk! Plus, half a million site views!!

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Kelloggs Choko Crunch. Denmark. 1988.

Time to snap, crackle and pop with TVTA as we celebrate half a million site views!

Half a million site views? Pas mal.  

Yes, since 2011 here at WordPress, the site has moved in all the right places I wanted it to, and it’s a pleasure to see so many daily visitors come check out the 4k+ images I’ve steadily been adding to the archives, along with the visits and interaction from my good blogging buddies (you know who you are and you know I love you 😍)

Here’s the screen shot I took the other day showing the magic number:

 

So, a BIG thanks to all my vintage mates and visitors, and remember – if it’s not TVTA then it’s probably something else! 

Cereal-y speaking…

Dear vintage mates, is your office cat addicted to cereals? Is your monthly procurement budget being constantly blown on Cheerios and Cornflakes? Are you finding empty boxes of bran flakes hidden behind the office scanner?

You would think a cat might be content with just milk, yes? Bah. Not TVTA’s intrepid office cat Wooof!

Read on to discover what happened on that fatal day during breakfast; a deadly tale of cereal overdose and fancy dress costume parties gone mad!

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TVTA’s Soft Drinks Top Ten Hyper Wild Ads

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Gulp! Hic! Dammit, I really enjoyed that thirst-quenching can of ice cold Coke I cracked open at work during my break the other day.

So let’s hear it for soft drinks, fizzy pop, soda… and TVTA’s Top Ten list featuring print ads from Denmark, UK, Brazil, and France…

But watch out for getting too hyper on that fizzy stuff, and dangerous animals too!

42% of wild animal attacks are caused by carbonated drink overuse. The animal kingdom and soda should never mix!

N°10 – Schwip-Schwap

Schwip Schwap. 1978. Denmark.

Let’s get high… high as a giraffe, with Danish orange-cola beverage Schwip Schwap… the sound you might actually hear as a 45 centimetre prehensile tongue slaps you around the face, if you’re ever foolish enough to get that close to a giraffe that is.

N°9 – 7 UP

7 Up. 1977. Denmark.

Staying high. A 7Up advert so psychedelic you need to consume forty litres of the stuff to imagine such a scene. Roughly translated, this Danish ad encourages us to: “Take a fresh one. It helps.” 

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Top ten toys that are freaking me out right now

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Baby Face dolls. Galoob. 1992.

Hello, vintage mates. I’m nowhere near the stage of the definitions below, but lately some of my toy ads are freaking me out!

Pediophobia or “the fear of dolls” is a specific type of phobia characterized by irrational and intense fear or worry of dolls. Pediophobia is closely related to Automatonophobia.

Automatonophobia – morbid fear of ventriloquist’s dummies, animatronic creatures, wax statues or any inanimate object that simulates a sentient being.

I don’t know, maybe it’s just me… but am I the only one to feel disturbed by this plush bunny sitting at the edge of a pond?

Bunny Long Legs. 1983.

And how about this Dancing Sailor Doll… 100% guaranteed to pick a fight with you, even if you agree with him!

DANCING SAILOR, clockwork tinplate sailor in cloth uniform, by Lehmann, circa 1912.

Maybe it is me.

Maybe not.

Anyway, I’m not taking any chances, and neither should you!

Be warned…

Here is my top ten toy adverts that freak me out lately…

#10 – Thumbelina Dolls 

Tiny terrors. The kind of dolls you might find hiding in small boxes, your purse, or when you open the fridge – sat next to the milk and yoghurt. No!

Thumbelina dolls. 1972. Ideal.

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TVTA’s top thirteen horror movie taglines

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To help entice an audience to the cinema, a horror film is going to require a striking and memorable poster. Not only that, it’s going to need a killer tagline which will aim to leave potential viewers wanting to know more.

Did you know that some films have used multiple taglines? For example, our opening entry – the 1971 Vincent Price horror The Abominable Dr. Phibes had eight different taglines across its various releases. Gremlins (1984) had nine. Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) had thirteen!

These multiple variations usually appear on special or later re-releases and can become more creative as time passes. Sometimes a tagline can be creative in enticing viewers by drawing simply on the reputation of its director, writer or producers (e.g., “From the director of…” or “From the team who brought you…” or “Based on the book by…”). And let’s not forget about the creativity required for foreign market translations – a whole new post probably!

Below is TVTA’s top thirteen horror movie taglines; our very own dastardly countdown of some of the best horror slogans ever.

13.
“Love means never having to say you’re ugly!”
The Abominable Dr. Phibes. 1971.

12.
“Six men. Full moon. No chance.”
Dog Soldiers. 2002.

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Ten misread internet instructions that prove I am a serial killer at heart

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Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D. 2013. Japan.

Or so Wooof reckons… The cheeky office cat suggested I might have serial killer tendencies due to my occasional habit of misreading text, replacing innocent words with a terrifying synonym, and adding murderous instructions onto the end of online mission statements!

Pfft. Wooof’s a fine one to talk… he’s killed more than enough mice, birds, moths and garden frogs to put Ed Gein’s cat to shame, if Ed Gein ever had a cat, that is.

Dear readers, trust me when I tell you I don’t have serial killer tendencies – just poor eyesight and cheap reading glasses, and a fondness for Halloween.

Yippee!! Only 200 days to go till Halloween!

Image courtesy of days.to

You misheard it here first!

10 misread internet instructions that prove I am a serial killer at heart…

  1. eBay – Don’t forget to leave feedback for your victims.
  2. Email – You have twelve undead messages.
  3. Privacy – Your privacy is important to us, which is why we are recording you undressing.
  4. Tabs – You have multiple open stabs. Do you wish to create stab groups?
  5. Facebook – We know what you did last summer (even if you aren’t on Facebook).
  6. Blogging sites – Proudly prowled by WordPress.
  7. Virtual Assistants – You have severley disabled Alexa.
  8. Defunct Social Media – In MySpace no one can hear you scream.
  9. Twitter – Find people you know (drug them, blackmail them, kill them).
  10. YouTube – Create a personal chainsaw. Fill out the details to name your new chainsaw and verify your account.

As always, thanks for looking for innocent victims to chop up according to the voices in your head  🙂 

Top Seven Scariest Whistles!

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Greeting vintage mates. Let’s take a brief look at some scary whistles! But, hey, we’re not talking about scary whistles like this …

Pinterest.

… Or even these …

Ghoul-head whistles by Bung Art Studios.

… We’re talking about scary whistles expelled from the pursed lips of the most callous, evil, monstrous, devious, or just downright ingenious characters from film and TV.

So, whet your whistles, take a deep breath, and join us as we count down from seven to one…

N°7: THE SHADMOCK’S WHISTLE. The Monster Club. 1981.

Vincent Price Priceless Advice: “Vampires sup, werewolves hunt, ghouls tear, Shaddies lick, maddies yawn, mocks blow, but shadmocks only whistle.”

N°6: BILLY THE KID’S WHISTLE. Young Guns. 1988.

Don’t let that smile fool you. And if the smile turns to a whistle then you’re in serious trouble!

N°5: YONDU’S WHISTLE. Guardians Of The Galaxy. 2014.

Whistle while you work? Don’t be messing about when Yondu purses his lips. You might get arrowed. Devastating!

N°4: NEGAN’S WHISTLE. The Walking Dead.

Not a very tuneful whistle from everyone’s favourite baseball bat-wielding pyscho, but there’s no way I’m telling Negan that! And just try imitating this whistle yourself. Not as easy as you might think.

N°3: HANS BECKERT’S WHISTLE. M. 1931.

The jolly classic In the Hall of the Mountain King by Grieg expelled from the lips of serial child killer Hans Beckert in Fritz Lang’s 1931 classic crime drama.

N°2: OMAR’S WHISTLE. The Wire.

Chain-smoking, shotgun-toting Omar swaggers into your neigbourhood whistling nursery rhymes. Time to be very worried.

TVTA’s top scariest whistle is…

N°1: ELLE DRIVER’S WHISTLE. Kill Bill: Volume 1. 2003.

Classic Tarantino scene of the whistling Californian Mountain Snake arriving to kill The Bride. The tune is Twisted Nerve by Bernard Herrman from the 1968 film of the same name. I’ve included the original whistle by ‘Georgie’ as well as Elle Driver’s whistle.

Pheeeeeep! There goes the full-time whistle!

Thank you for sucking in your cheeks and blowing with us 🙂

Can you think of any other scary whistlers in cinema or TV?

Ghoul-head whistle pic courtesy of Bung Art Studios

Whistling Dracula Teeth pic found on Pinterest