Thursday, August 23, 2012

9 Toylines from the '80s Based on Unusual Gimmicks

9) Visionaries and Super Naturals

[via toplessrobot]

See the rest here

3 comments:

Octopunk said...

Topless Robot puts out a lot of cool lists but this is a standout. So much silly here!

9. Unlike a lot of these entries, I recall these being on the shelves and having no interest in them at all, because it's kind of like having a picture of an action figure instead of an action figure.

I weep for the director of that commercial, having to make sure the angle on each toy was perfect so the lenticular image was showing the right thing at the right moment. (Yes, that's what those things are called!)

Octopunk said...

Oops, I published prematurely.

8. Okay, never heard of these, but a full-sized tacky toy sounds like the dumbest idea ever. "Easily got covered with dust and hair." I bet.

7. This commercial is worth watching just to hear the British kids saying the usual toy commercial crap. The toys look okay, possibly ruined by being attached to rings.

6. This made me laugh for a lot of reasons. One, the setting for this adventure is "Airlandia." Two, the crap G.I. Joe style animation looks so damn familiar, and three, the inexplicable image of the kid falling into space at the end. Why?

Also, the animation implies characters with faces and the reality is tiny, identical astronauts a few steps below the ones that come in the Mattel Space: 1999 Eagle. Although I think I have one of the bad guys in my "unkown" section.

Octopunk said...

5. Notably stupid gimmick, but made way more hilarious by that blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of a live actor wearing a full-sized toy backpack. Poor actor had to wear that thing around for a day and didn't even get his face on screen.

4. Never heard of these. What a horrible un-fun concept on every level, including the awful bit of offscreen dialogue with Dad (maybe it was the same actor).

3. Never heard of these, either, but what a ridiculous gimmick! I assumed from the pic that they had two-sided faces that spun around, but instead they deflate!?! HIlarious.

2. The Uzay of He-Man! "Led by the heroic 'Hero.'" When I read that I imagine the offices of these knockoff toys featuring lots of cigarette smoke and hangovers, maybe with the sounds of chickens and goats coming in the window from the streets below.

1. Unbelievable. They tell the kids to destroy the toys right in the commercial. Wtf man, wtf.