Five Retro TV Commercials, Part 3!
The previous edition of Five Retro TV Commercials was an all ‘80s affair, and given the responses, I may have gone back a bit too far. Way to make me feel old, people. Like it’s my fault you were too lazy to get born before Good Humor retired Colossal Fossil ice pops.
Anyway, here’s my mutant mea culpa. Commercials that you were almost definitely around to see.
In one of my dusty bins, I found a video full of Pokemon episodes taped off of the WB Network in mid 2000. I believe I scored it from a yard sale, and that couldn’t have been later than 2003.
At the time, the commercials hiding within those Pikachu cartoons were too new to have any nostalgic appeal, so I never bothered to encode the tape during the X-E era. Now around fifteen years later, everything on this video feels totally ancient. And so do I.
Here are five of the more interesting ones, many of which are batshit:
Comet Pops! (2000)
These lollipops had special handles that worked like a cross between switchblades and lightsabers. It was one of those candies that doubled as a toy, and that’s how they were able to charge four bucks for 50 cents’ worth of lollipop.
While I’d concede that a space theme was right for this promotion, this ad went way too far. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but it’s so obviously a commercial that spent the better part of its run causing four-year-olds to never sleep.
The ad featured multiple aliens sucking lollipops, including one that looked like the perfect midpoint between Jim Carrey’s Grinch and the girl from Species. Complete nightmare fuel.
Paired with ominous music and a menacing voice-over, I just can’t see “I want a lollipop” being anyone’s takeaway, irrespective of their age, gender or predisposition to love TV commercials starring candy-sucking aliens. Read More…
Interesting He-Man finds from eBay!
Below are five of the most interesting Masters of the Universe collectibles currently on eBay. I can afford none of them.
Argentinian Modulok Figure!
Asking Price: $1200
The Argentinian version of the Masters of the Universe line — produced by Top Toys but still officially licensed — took many of our favorite heroes and villains and tried to recreate the original Mattel versions as faithfully as possible.
These figures were cruder but generally on-point, looking reasonably similar to the Mattel originals. One the few major aberrations was Modulok (or “Modulock,” in this case), which was such a departure from Mattel’s version that it’s arguably now the most sought-after piece from the whole series.
Mattel never intended Modulok to be sold on a standard blister card, so Top Toys needed to cut a few corners to make the beast fit. Look close and you’ll notice some spare body parts behind the figure. There were enough of them to recreate the original figure’s mutant Lego gimmick, but still far less than Mattel’s version.
The most striking difference is the figure’s coloring. The original’s body parts were completely red, but this one mixes in a huge dose of green. It’s the special Christmas edition of Modulok, and that’s all kinds of awesome. Maybe not 1200 dollars’ worth of awesome, but hey, it’s not like you’re gonna easily find another for sale. Read More…
The Purple Stuff Podcast: Episode 19!
Wow, they weren’t kidding about that blizzard! I can’t remember the last time we got so much snow. To be honest, I didn’t mind it. Being snowed in kinda rules. It’s the perfect excuse to dress like a mummy, act like a slug and eat like a Hutt.
Of course, it’s less fun the day after, when you realize that there’s somewhere in the area of three tons of snow to shovel if you ever want to see your car again. Before I head out to finish the job, here’s the latest Purple Stuff Podcast:
This week, me and Jay from The Sexy Armpit are covering the news. And by “news” I of course mean things like action figures, Suicide Squad and Mountain Dew Pitch Black. It’s probably the most casual show we’ve done, but I think that works if you’re stuck indoors on a snowy Sunday. Give us a listen by clicking the giant play button below!
You can also download this week’s show directly by right-clicking here.
The Purple Stuff Podcast is also on iTunes, Stitcher and Podbean.
Thanks as always for listening! Read More…
The best McDonald’s collectibles on eBay.
Below: A sampling of the greatest McDonald’s collectibles currently on eBay.
Deciding on a mere six items was no easy task. When you hear “McDonald’s collectibles,” you probably just think of Happy Meal toys. Those are on eBay, of course, but they’re joined by everything from seven foot restaurant statues to tiny slips of promotional paper that had no right to survive for 30 years. Pretty much every McDonald’s “thing” in history is on eBay, right now.
…but these are six of my favorites:
Super Mario Bros. 3 Happy Meal Display!
Asking Price: $199.99
There aren’t many Happy Meal toys that go for more than a few dollars a pop, but the original restaurant displays can sell for small fortunes. In this particular case, it’s hard to argue with the price. If you’re an old school Nintendo nut, is there anything more ephemerally awesome than the original Super Mario Bros. 3 Happy Meal display?
The 1989 toy set is one of the most beloved in Happy Meal history, cracking most fans’ “Top 5” lists. Still, since all four toys can be procured in mint shape for around ten bucks, you’re mostly paying for the display, which beautifully recreates the Nintendo game as a three-dimensional “playset.” You could almost certainly find it for less than $200 with some digging, but this one won’t ever come cheap. Read More…