Vintage Australian Toys & Ephemera
The TV series MASH was a huge smash in Australia in the 70’s and 80’s, and so it was surprising but not totally unexpected that a licensed ice cream would be produced. Paul’s Australia had the honour, and below is an example of the wrapper for the individual icy pole.
Using characters to sell snack foods to kids had been around since Mickey Mouse ice cream in the 1930’s, but the popularity of Pac-Man and other early video games like Space Invaders and Donkey Kong opened up a whole new frontier for licensed products. This packet presumably came out of a large multipack, if anyone … Read More “Pac-Man Ghost Muncher Cheese Snacks” »
Only the most popular fads received the coveted licensed ice cream treatment in Australia, so it’s a testament to the legendary Taito Space Invaders video game to see this Milk Bar advertising sign from the early 80’s. While it was the first video game ice treat it wouldn’t be the last, as I’ll show in … Read More “Streets Space Invaders Ice Cream” »
During the peak of Mork & Mindy TV fever in 1979, Peters Ice Cream Australia released a licensed frozen yogurt known as “Mork Food”. It featured a great cartoon version of Robin William’s Mork character, with some of his sayings and catchphrases on the side. I’m not sure what other flavours were released, let me … Read More “Peters Australia Mork Food Yogurt” »
Doctor Who has enjoyed a close relationship with Australia since the very beginning, with several key writers, a popular companion (Tegan) and even the composer of the famous theme music being Aussies. The show enjoyed a loyal following on the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) from 1964 until the end of the original series in 1989. … Read More “Doctor Down Under – Doctor Who Ice Cream & Showbag” »
Thanks to Toltoys Kid reader “robspromos” I’m delighted to present the complete set of shrinkie premiums from the 1979 Nabisco Weeties Australia cereal tie-in. A small set of five that were issued in these boxes, and very tough to find. A bit of a strange mix of characters and ships, but kids weren’t complaining when … Read More “Disney’s 1979 “The Black Hole” Weeties Shrinkies” »
In the wake of Star Wars came a slew of wannabe space epics, but Disney did quite a respectable job with it’s 1979 production of “The Black Hole” . The robots had jerky actions and the actors were robotic, and let’s not mention the tinny sound and special effects, but as a nine year old … Read More “Disney’s 1979 The Black Hole Weeties Cereal Promotion” »
