1978 Comic Book ads: Toys and bizarre mail order catalogs

[brendala.livejournal.com]

Today's group of ads was scanned from this comic book:




The ads in this book were...strange. And one of them was mildly offensive.



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"BUY OUR GUN, KIDS!! It's so realistic, the cops wont be able to tell that it's a toy!!!"



It's from Europe, you guys. EUROPE!!!!!


And here's one of those hokey old Hostess ads:




"Sexy" posters for sale. FOR KIDS!!:



Wait! Why is there a Grizzly Adams poster among the sexy celebrities!!? I know it was the 70s; but I just can't believe that any kid or teenager found that thing attractive!! >_< 
.....that said, I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't get to see the Sexy Clint Eastwood poster in the ad. XD




I'm not even a Star Wars fan, but OMG I want those toys and jewelry pieces!! ^_^


And now for the offensive one...



Specifically...



WHY WOULD YOU EVEN WANT ONE OF THOSE!!?!??!!! WHY IS THIS IS A KIDS' BOOK!? WHY!!?!?!? O_o


BTW, I scanned the entire comic book here. Just in case you're dying to know how Elroy Jetson escapes the predicament he's in on the cover.

Comments

[nyxalinth.livejournal.com]

I had that Shaun Cassidy poster when I was 12 :D

[baron-waste.livejournal.com]

- And Cheryl Ladd was actually a talented comedienne, though she was very seldom given any opportunity to demonstrate it.

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

We're about the same age. I wanted that Shaun Cassidy poster, but my mom wouldn't let me have stuff like that. Of course, Farrah and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders where EVERYWHERE! Ms. Tiegs may not look like that anymore, but she still looks amazing!

I didn't get the Grizzly Adams thing either. Who was the market for that? Gay preteen boys who are into "bears"? That would be creepy! Also, the actor's name is Dan Haggerty, not "Mr. Adams."

[brendala.livejournal.com]

Maybe "Mr Adams" was the name of a character he played at the time?

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, it was. I was a big fan of the show when I was a kid, but I'm pretty sure I knew the actor's name even then. But I was also a really geeky kid and at that time I was really interested in how television shows were made, other productions actors had worked in, etc. You know, "Six Degrees of _____" kind of stuff. As far as that goes, Parker's last name is Stevenson, not Blue. Hmm. Maybe Parker Blue was his porno name?

Also, when I looked up Dan Haggerty on IMDB, they use the exact same headshot! You mean to tell me he hasn't had his picture taken since the '70s? :D It looks like he's still working, though.

[spuzzlightyear.livejournal.com]

YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT'S AN AIRGUN!

And neither will the police, no doubt.

Also, I wonder why Ms. Tiegs and Mr. Adams are referred as to as exactly that.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

Also, I wonder why Ms. Tiegs and Mr. Adams are referred as to as exactly that.

I dunno. Maybe they couldn't fit their full names in the ad? XD
I'm more confused about "L.A. Farrah". What does it mean? Los Angeles? Is it the brand of the bathing suit she's wearing?

[angstzeit.livejournal.com]

Did anyone ever see "Grit" anywhere but these ads?

[brendala.livejournal.com]

I never saw Grit ads in my comic books (I was born in 1984). But in the early 90s I saw a lot of ads for other "sales" companies that offered to reward kid sellers with "points" that could be redeemed for prizes. Even when I was a child, it seemed like a big scam to me. I don't see them in kiddie comics anymore; so I guess all those companies went out of business.

[http://users.livejournal.com/__diamondgirl__/]

My grandma subscribed to it. I used to read it all the time when I was a kid. It was like a half size newspaper, I think it came biweekly? There were folksy/religious/old timey type stories, a few comics and word puzzles, stuff like that. I was just thinking about Grit not too long ago and apparently now it is some type of farming magazine, totally different.

[furnacechant.livejournal.com]

They used to sell it at the 7-11 down the street from my childhood home, and I remember my grandparents occasionally having a copy around.

[ticktockman.livejournal.com]

Those 5 faces of Hitler are postage stamps. They'd send you the ones they advertised for you to keep. They'd send you a bunch more in the same envelope "on approval" along with an invoice. You owed them big-time if you didn't send back the "on approval" stamps.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

I remember accidentally getting into trouble with one of those "on approval" mail order things when I was a kid. Maybe that's why that stuff isn't advertised in kiddie books anymore.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

I showed my nieces that Spider-Man "Action Figure" ad at the Emerald City Comic Con last year and went in to my old-guy rant about how THIS was what WE had when I was a kid - NO ARTICULATION, NO ACTION, just SPIDEY HOLDING HIS HAND UP and one of those retractable badge-holder things they give you at work... they pittied me :(

[brendala.livejournal.com]

AND WE HAD TO WALK BAREFOOT IN THE SNOW TO GET TO THE TOY STORE AND BUY THEM!!
**shakes cane**

[wyattkelly.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I remember a buddy of mine had one of these. I always felt sorry for him. His parents also gave him a ROM: The Spaceknight toy. I honestly wondered if his parents were against fun. I played with my Star Wars, and 12 inch Mego toys instead. The ones that actually had joints.

[mystical-chickn.livejournal.com]

Wow, I think I remember Laff-a-Lympics just barely from when I was REALLY young (born in '79). I was surprised to see the comic convention ad, I always thought comic-cons were a post-Internet thing.

(The "offensive ad" isn't showing up for me though, might be too big for the Wii's memory)

[brendala.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised you don't remember Laff-A-Lympics. That show was boring as dirt. :P
However, the comics based on the cartoons were WAY better. I put a link to some scans (http://brendala.livejournal.com/182138.html) in my post so you guys could see them. :)

[kshandra]

Wait! Why is there a Grizzly Adams poster among the sexy celebrities!!? I know it was the 70s; but I just can't believe that any kid or teenager found that thing attractive!! >_<

Allow me to introduce myself... ;-) I couldn't tell you why I had a crush on Dan Haggerty, but I did.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

Hey, to each their own. It was just an odd contrast to have a "Mr Adams" poster sitting next to Farrah Fawcett and Shaun Cassidy. LOL

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

Want Lego car! For my (ahem) children, of course.

1000 Toys for $1.00

[(Anonymous)]

I'm looking for help!! Back in the late 50's I sent
away from an ad I think was in a comic book. 1000 Toys for $1.00 What I thought I was getting was those cheep flat plastic toys and the little plastic cars with the wheels just part of the mold. I waited for weeks and then it came. It was in a 9X12 envelope. What it was where 10 hard paper sheets with 100 pictures of toys on each sheet. You could punch out each toy and it had a small bottom flap that you could fold down so the little picture of the toy would stand up. Was I the only kid tricked by this ad? Please let me know.