OBSCURE 80s TOY COMMERCIALS

A Compilation of Obscure/ Hard to Find Toy Line commercials from the 1980s!!

[@KapitalP73]

The 80's was a golden age for cartoons and toys

[@theusher2893]

Absolutely. What an awesome time to be a kid.

[@devinweathers7520]

I've fucking adore the army ant themes

[@zZiL341yRj736]

Paul Albert Movies, everything.

[@zeframmann1641]

Anyone who says the 80s were a golden age of animation is just remembering the theme songs.

[@c0l1n_m45]

The 80's was pretty much the golden age of everything.

[@kasivisio846]

Chargertron, protectron, antagotron... "In the 80's everything was tron" -James & Mike

[@rafaventura9504]

trinitron, megatron

[@danielclement6199]

i got this commercial on an old vhs recording of he-man or voltron

[@OmeedNOuhadi]

Thanks to Tron (1982) film. #ono

[@JanetStarChild]

It's Protagotron, not "protectron".

[@HumanoidCableDreads]

Late 80s and early 90s, when grossness was a main selling point for toys.

[@EnchantedSmellyWolf]

It was cool and RADical!

[@RodMen_89]

now kids are pussies and doesn't like that

[@sailoritaly]

@@RodMen_89 What are you talking about? There’s still gross out toys today. There’s literally a girls toy that involves poop

[@motojauntx]

After almost 20 years on active duty with the US Army, every time we sing the Army Song, I still hear a tiny voice shouting “GRAB THE EGGS!” Army Ants were the best!!!

[@theusher2893]

Lol that's gold!! XD I always hear those lyrics when I hear the Army song!

[@leekronforst4589]

After 20 years the Army probably would need 3 or 4 fresh recruits to do your job. In the blue collar wrench turning machine building blueprint reading toolbox jockey world I'm getting a little nervous about how unintelligent the youth of today are. But I try to impart my knowledge to them.

[@motojauntx]

Gio Corvino Challenge accepted! (I’ll make the LT do it!) 😂

[@ssdeathsquad88]

its called programming

[@CHUUMPASS]

thank you for your service Sir ! much appreciated.

[@brainlessdork]

This country has completely forgotten how to market and advertise.

[@shadowrealm1210]

brainlessdork it’s something called “yearly agenda”

[@davidwu3417]

The inter-dimensional TV vibe is strong in this one

[@TheMightyThor83]

Rocks and bugs and things? Couldn't come up with a better name. "So Billy, what do you want for Christmas?" "Rocks and bugs and things!"

[@Glopdemon]

I had at least a couple of these and I don’t think they ever did elaborate on what the “things” were

[@tomokokuroki3085]

Nya, Combat rocks. Who wouldn't want an action doll that was a rock? Please, please, tell me there is an animated series XDDD

[@Superherosolution]

What a time to be a kid! The 80s decade was something special. The movies. The toys. The music. Arguably the most iconic decade of all time. Glad to have experienced it. How I miss the 80s!

[@garthdavis2502]

Fun Fact: the Battle Beasts appeared in the Japan-exclusive Transformers Headmaster's.

[@calebgowett714]

Rocks and Bugs and Things sounds like a parody of 80’s toy lines

[@tomokokuroki3085]

Nya, as a concept it's so ridiculous that it's great XDDD

[@calebgowett714]

Tomoko Kuroki True

[@mrf19741]

The 80's were an Epically Great Time for Toys & TV!

[@cheatsheet3325]

FYI The Manglors wouldn't hold together after being torn apart like that. I remember seeing stories in the news about lawsuits to force toy manufacturers to advertise more truthfully and the concept blew my mind.

[@odusfrogger1980]

I had one and I was pissed as a kid. I did just as it showed and never stuck. My dino had 1 arm.... Made the best of it but was still pissed.

[@itsagundam79]

"Almost like new" - dumbest cheat tagline. I had way more fun with the egg hatching dinosaur toys!

[@BrentARJ]

Seriously. I said to my wife, "That commercial just told kids to break their new toy!"

[@pirateraider1708]

This was my first time hearing of it, and my first thought was "There's no way in hell that part's real."

[@longgroove]

I got so mad I wrote an angry handwritten letter to the manufacturer. Never got a response. Assholes.

[@TheRichie213]

I'm so glad I was an 80s kid. When these commercials came on I would call my brothers, hurry! That's the toy I want! GI Joes were my favorite. Such an epic time!

[@CHUUMPASS]

agreed to the fullest ! epic times indeed. always bitter sweet to use the youtube time machine and go back to these days, sweet nostalgia kick and memories of a time we CAN'T go back to, which is the bitter part. greetings from one 80s baby to another! :-)

[@stevegarcia3174]

Heck yea gi Joe's masters of the universe go bots garbage pail kids even real ghost busters the 80s rocked miss that era

[@vermis8344]

The enduring image I get from this collection is of a bunch of executives throwing sh... stuff at the wall to see what sticks.

[@longgroove]

Cocaine was a hell of a drug.

[@ranchoth]

God...even the lighting and cinematography make me deeply wistful.

[@Nx57ytre]

3:20 That is the only moment in the video where a toy company totally lies. Seriously, the toys don't have that self-repair property. They had a hell of problems with Consumer Protection.

[@Mr.Obongo]

That’s so true it was just a ploy to convince kids to convince their parents

[@LPTV84]

These only make me appreciate the high quality of Kenner Toys

[@redroversk]

I've never been so excited for old, failed toy lines.

[@leekronforst4589]

These reminded me of growing up government cheese poor and wanting a lot of these. It was a great childhood though and now I have fun hunting for vintage toys at flea markets and rummage sales.

[@garybailey1251]

I remember Crystar. I had the Marvel Comic Series.

[@gijoespanol]

I feel fortunate for having grown in the 80's.

[@EnchantedSmellyWolf]

And the video games growing stronger with every advertisement.

[@marksnexus]

World 1:18 [3 3/4 Action Figures Channel] was a fun time to be a kid ....

[@Mr.Obongo]

I feel the same but for the 90’s. What sucks is that a lot of time has passed since and getting older sucks

[@pollodormido2]

I remember Super Naturals and Battle Beasts! Anything with holograms was cool at that time!

[@RockoJerome]

Ideal and Remco had been kings of previous decades, but in the 80's they just held on for dear life.

[@pauljensen5699]

Don't forget Buddy L

[@Mr.Boglin]

4:01 without a shadow of a doubt, my favorite toy I had as a kid. And I had a *TON OF TOYS As a kid growing up in the late 80s and 90s!* Boglins would have been my favorite, but I never could get one. They sold out so fast in my area of Austin, Texas back then, we never even SEEN them again once the first wave sold out. But this little buddy? Oh, he went on Clearance for $0.99! And I played with him until he LITERALLY FELL APART. I got one again now as an Adult, but Good Lord, he was so much fun in the early 90s. I could put his Puzzle Organs back together so quickly, I felt like one of those Rubik's Cube Genius kids! LOL

[@TheBroz]

I was in a world of WTF but then Starcom came on. That shit wasn’t obscure, loved it.

[@ManCave1972]

Those Power Lords don’t even look finished! Lol. What a great video of obscure stuff long forgotten 👍🏻

[@questionblock8949]

Such a good video. Man i wish i could go back and appreciate that time more..

[@HORRIOR1]

1:17 What a great selling point! 10/10 would buy again!

[@VirginiaTombstoneRevival]

Battle Beasts, Food Fighters, Army Ants, Supernaturals, and Sectaurs were the only ones I either remember or used to have. It was great being an 80's kid.

[@user-ny7tc2vl5f]

Computer Warriors are still going strong.....it seems like everyone is a computer warrior now and they do all their fighting from a keyboard.

[@herkcollins4263]

I had Disect an Alien and it was so cool. I loved it. Then, about a month later, the cool wore off and I was tired of it lol.

[@chevon5707]

Wow so many of these were buried deep in my memories...

[@SuaveBeatschannel]

Feels nice to see these, reminds of of the good times before the darkness.....before the Disney takeover.

[@WarriorSmurf]

I remember all of these. Sectaurs is actually being relaunched. I didn't go but from what I understand the new line was just previewed at Retro Con a weekend or so ago.

[@lesterjargus5311]

I played with my Sectaurs until they fell apart... many hours of brutal fun!

[@Cloudeusz]

Why do I feel nostalgic for a point in time I wasn’t even alive for?

[@FranciscoMartinez-ot7wi]

Every comercial was an adventure, some I knew, Some I`ve never seen before, some I have the comic books for them! BUT MAN LOVED THIS VID!! thanks.

[@mazinz2]

Nice to see some of these again-- thanks!

[@FredericoPagotto]

WOW !! Sectaurs were such a success here in Brazil in the 80's !! Loved the well manufactured and resistant toys in those years...

[@lesterjargus5311]

I managed to break all my Sectaurs, but they survived many hours. The wings were fragile, and the bite action wore out rather quickly, but great memories all the same!

[@-mcpie-6802]

Ashens: It's free real estate

[@robertdozier9481]

The "Ozzers" commercial made me feel like I was watching something inappropriate for children...

[@pollodormido2]

I want an Oozer!

[@tristantoole7363]

Which part? The near-orgasmic screaming of some guy every time a kid squeezes the toys, the oozing as the contents run down said kid's hand, or the idea that part of the commercial looks like it was shot in a strip joint?

[@pollodormido2]

The toy! The other one who is an alien autopsy too! To gut it in front of my gf or family member and slime them.

[@TobeyStarburst]

You sound like you have problems.

[@pollodormido2]

@@TobeyStarburst Yeah. I am in the future and those toys are in the past. Can't get them no more!

[@Summertimeblues28]

great nostalgia. thanks for posting. had most of these toys and still do!

[@ColumbiaBeet]

Starcom looked like hard sci-fi inspired stuff. Like toys of working class spacemen.

[@nicholassullivan1239]

Starcom toys were sweet. I forgot all about them.

[@balalunga1]

„Each sold separately.“

[@craigsavarese8631]

Damn, you weren’t kidding about being obscure. I only saw two of those toys growing up in the 80’s - the food fighters and the super naturals. Not the commercials, but the toys in the stores.

[@ImmortalRaZdu]

OMG !!! Like every commercial is a short cartoon . Cooooooooolllllll !!!

[@thingfish000]

You could dust off any of that stuff and sell it to me right now.

[@Mr.Obongo]

Could you sell yourself to me right now?

[@gi_nattak]

This video couldn't have possibly started any better!

[@RadMartigan]

YES!! Glad someone noticed haha!! When I was putting this together I knew I needed a great starter, Chargertron was the obvious choice!!

[@danielspencer582]

Wow I had forgotten about so many of these, the army gear at the end was a line I wanted so bad but never got to get. Thanks for the nostalgia.

[@elwoodjacobs4353]

I'm impressed with myself that there were only 4 toy lines in this compilation that I didn't know, but I'd at least heard of if not seen all the others shown. & I wasn't even _born_ in the '80s, let alone the _20th century._

[@MrKenichi22]

The 80’s was also full of Gross out toys... And we thought it was a 90’s thing.

[@shawnmaple1516]

I love these commercials. I had so many of these toys growing up . My childhood was awesome . Great times .

[@BlackArroToons]

Crystar, Spiral Zone, and many unique commericals. Those Rocks 'n Bugs 'n Things, I had the one with the rock, two arms and face with the slope on top that was sort of greenish/gray. Cool item I found at Kaybee as a kid back then. Thanks! Manglord was great for a couple weeks before his arms wouldn't stick back on.

[@Qc4073]

Sectaurs ruled. I loved the big bugs you could use as puppets

[@itsagundam79]

The battery operated wings were great! It was so much fun chomping GI Joes and kidnapping baby dinosaurs with the pincers and moving legs lol

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

I feel like a kid again after watching these commercials...and felt the disappointment of not been able to buy these toys.

[@camcordernonsense5264]

I need more commercials. I almost made it to my parents 80s living room couch with these examples.

[@darkfent]

And then there's sentai toys commercial

[@sincereeastman6972]

I need someone to make a full version of the Ant field artillery song, Get to it!

[@PoeticProse7]

Protagatron and Antagatron . . . I wonder how many hours were saved not using creativity! Hours better spent on Coke and Coke!

[@mightyfilm]

The names sound like they're from a bad Transformers parody. One written by someone who hated the franchise but had no working knowledge of it.

[@cheatsheet3325]

The song though

[@originaluddite]

@@cheatsheet3325 the song reminds me of the sort of nerdy New Wave bands like Devo did.

[@mightyfilm]

Clearly what they were going for. I mean, early 80's, robots. It had to be something Devo-ish sounding. I'd say at least there was effort put into the marketing, not the naming. It's just a shame that the toys at the later end of this video have a richer mythos without the use of a comic or cartoon tie in, and this one gets away with calling the two characters essentially "Good Guy Bot" and "Bad Guy Bot."

[@mrspeigel3593]

I'm sure the guy who came up with that had to lay down and massage his temples after that burst of creativity.

[@leaderstragg]

Sectaurs had a better (and somewhat DARKER) plot than I thought it did!

[@PredaConvoy]

I always wish it had been more successful than it was.. the Marvel comic was pretty good, what I read of it (mainly a Summer Special here in the UK), and I had a few of the figures. Just a shame my hand grew out of the puppets so fast!

[@nicholastosoni707]

...Sectaurian violence?

[@theneedfulniche]

Wow. I haven't heard that Chargertron tune in at least 30 years.

[@ghostchips6146]

Totally Awesome!!

[@metalphobos3632]

Oh my god.....BATTLEBEASTS! I had so many of those and completely forgot until now. Amazing. Bring the 80s back.

[@WeWillAlwaysHaveVALIS]

UK here, and grew up in the 90s but I had two of these (super naturals & sectors) that I got via bootsales, never knew what they were growing up so it was cool to see what they were from originaly.

[@RetepElpmet]

I was living in France at the time but I do recall some of these toys. I loved the Battle Beast toys. I can't remember the French adverts though. When I moved to the US, I was amazed at just how many awesome ads for awesome toys there were!

[@tomokokuroki3085]

Nya, I don't know how things would be in France but here in Spain we always had a tradition of innovative toys and that time was the boom of national video games, so it was a battle between both fronts to capture our attention and that gave rise to many great things.

[@deathraceking5029]

I feel like you just accidentally made a David Lynch movie.

[@RadMartigan]

Hahahaha!!

[@booleyb3218]

you know a commercial is good if it makes people still want to buy it decades later

[@damnedash9526]

Wow... that just made my day. :)

[@Broke_Guy_78]

I miss the 80's, I am happy to be an 80's kid....... 😀😀😀😀

[@T0m0zuki]

Those 80`s kids always knew, how to replicate true ambience of cartoons.

[@DEADG6D]

That bull whip cannon is one advanced piece of machinery

[@HaerrysnFord]

the chargertron jingle at the beginning is a banger :D

[@victorflores2780]

Absolutely LOVED Crystar the Crystal Warrior and Spiral Zone!!!

[@surrealcereal603]

OMG! I forgot about that "switch on chargertron" song! That used to stick in my head for months... and god dammit, it's stuck in there again after all these years.

[@BillLionaire12]

Yooooo! I would have loved crystar!!...there were soany dope toy lines and cartoons in the 80s!!...I used to love the non popular toy lines

[@13shark77]

Man some of these things take me back! Spiral Zone! Great show! Army ants song was catchy back then! Still is! Ozesers?? Air-Raiders! lol Had the base! Battle Beast! An army builder set! Food fighters.... IDK?

[@weemadangus1834]

Got one toy from here in a jumble sale in the 80s. Bug glove puppet!

[@gigerbrick]

2:32 "OOZERS" Now that is seriously fucked up LOL :)

[@Shane665]

Battle Beasts were so awesome yet so simple. I remember playing with them all the time.

[@jacobwatson1009]

Air Raiders and StarCom were badass. Air Raiders were not out long, and they had a fortress that I never saw in real life. StarCom were very well designed and detailed. “Spiral Zone” was a pretty cool cartoon but it came on so late in the morning that I was at the bus-stop when it was on. Bastards.

[@JohnJTMack]

I recently found my Air Raiders instruction booklets I saved. Random I know. I also still have some of my Sectaurs. Had Power Lords as a kid.

[@joeyoung7233]

I miss my, Battle Beast, I lost them at Rockaway Beach : (

[@toPuPplS]

I knw how u feel buddy.. We've all lost a toy or two somewhere somewhen during our childhood.. Makes us wana go back to that place and see if it's still there and what condition they're in..

[@JPTyler]

I guess Rockaway beach wins over all?😕

[@MicBain]

6:47 duuuuude!!! I had that toy as a kid and I forgot about it until now! And one of the little hooded guys too! Everyone loved holograms in the 80s damn it!

[@BoogerlyPlops]

I have been trying to find out Crystars for a long time. I still have a couple of those.

[@Bayan1905]

I remember a few of my friends having the Sectaurs, a couple of the Oozers. Most parents I knew though were totally against their kids having most of the dissect an alien or any of the monster stuff. The Manglors sucked, soon as a part came off, it wouldn't stick back on.

[@greyclouds6052]

I had some of these. Wow. I had no idea what the were or called. Thrift shop finds. I like the machete toy at the end.

[@jamesp8677]

That chargetron was like a tenacious d song

[@leonserya720]

I had a few of those Spiral Zone figures. They came with a cassette tape. Also had a few of those Army Ant dudes.

[@leonserya720]

And those Starcom toys. I was a spoiled brat.

[@Reiko380]

I remember crystar, I have a few of the comics

[@raceyboy]

Those were cool. I liked the name too.

[@grimfearamvs7855]

80 sure does have some awesome toy

[@SoundJester82]

Jesus the OOOOOooooOOooooooooozzers guy.

[@RadMartigan]

SoundJester hahaha!! That dude commits!!

[@JanetStarChild]

"Protagotron and Antagotron" ...Gawdamn... That commercial seems more like a parody than legitimate.

[@Lurker1979]

I had a few Starcom toys as a kid. Great toys.

[@stevegarcia3174]

I remember all these commercials as a kid I had most of these I miss the 80s I loved garbage pail kids to

[@pkthunder416]

GRAB THE EGGS!!!!

[@DontFeedTheTrolls]

Army Ants and Battle Beasts were the most memorable ones from this list for me.

[@crapassreality9549]

Fun Fact... the kid @ 4:05, Michael Kenworthy went on to play the main character Jesse in Return of the Living Dead part 2 just a year after this commercial.

[@zobook]

That monster on the left at 2:05 looks like the basket case monster

[@willwalker3150]

Air raiders. ... Mad scientist....battle beast....food fighters....supernaturals.... Sectaurs....are the only commercials I remember...

[@raymonddonnelly532]

The first one should have been a movie with a soundtrack from D E V O

[@joshfraley8019]

How could these toys not catch on?! They were the best action figures around when I was a toddler.

[@jaysonklein6018]

Japan made a new version of Battle Beats called Beast Saga, in 2011... it didn't last long. And somebody made a comic series of Power Lords, with new figures, in the 2010s. What can we say? The 2010s were the epitome of "everything old is new again", with the utter lack of new GOOD toys in the late 2000s.