1960's IDEAL Christmas Toy TV Commercial

[gymnastix]

What is "Christmas" about this commercial? TV ads for toys are aired year-round, usually during children's programming, which, when I was a kid, was mostly Saturday mornings.

But with cable TV, on a kids channel, the toy ads could air virtually 24/7.

So unlesss a commercial specifically mentions the Christmas season, it is just a regular toy commercial.

[ironhorzmn]

Be the FIRST kid on your BLOCK...to DESTROY it!

[kolaboy]

Great commercial.

Well, I had this thing. It NEVER worked. That lid on his head always stuck in the "open" position. One of the few times the rocket actually fired, it shattered a vase. The left eyeball was frozen looking off to the right. The cord connecting the control to the robot's body was only 2 feet long. And it took about 20 D-cell batteries to run the thing.

And yet it looked great standing up on my dresser. Wish I still had it...

[CaneFu]

@kolaboy

Mine worked perfectly and I remember attacking my older sister's boyfriend with the robot one night while he sat on the couch waiting for her to finish getting ready. Between the balls it threw out of his hands & the missile launched out of his head, the robot did a pretty good job on him - enough to make him angry and tell on me...that wimp.

[Poodleinacan]

It might have been fun to be born in those times...

Now, I'm waiting for jan. 25, because am buying the collector's edition of Dead Space 2!, for 80$ ...

We live in a very different time now.

[Beamshipcaptain]

Gasoline was only 30 Cents a gallon in 1961 in New York!

[SatansMullet]

@Beamshipcaptain Yeah, and my mom only got 50 cents a week allowance too.

[MrDanlj]

Very "high tech" for the time. At least we used our imagination more back then and not living on a cell phone.

[Hangmen13]

INTERGALACTIC PLANETARY PLANETARY INTERGALACTIC

[kyolym]

WONDER WHAT IT'S WORTH TODAY?

[2bakJ]

it's my birhtday today! can i have one ?

[diddymuck]

It was a nudnik toy. Just rolled around at a foot every 5 minutes. Radio control was activated by breathing hard as you pronounced the commands...a small flat metal plate was pushed back when you blew out "ffffffFFFIRE". Then you moved a sliding switch on the "mike" to the appropriate position to get the other mechanisms to activate. 45 bucks for this loser and it lasted 10 days before it broke. ($45 bucks back then could feed a family of 4 for like three months!)

[Manwithjeep]

@diddymuck $45!!! Are you friggin' serious? What average family could afford to buy that back then? It's not like today where people just swipe the stripe and ignore their monthly VISA statements. lol

[crusher1944]

@diddymuck 45 dollors was my monthly rent in 1961

[Roodosutaa]

That thing has voice recognition????

[CaneFu]

@Roodosutaa

"That thing has voice recognition?"

I remember being very disappointed that it didn't respond to my verbal commands because the commercial certainly seems to imply that doesn't it? You had to turn a knob to make the robot turn left or fire a missile as the microphone was fake. This commercial was obviously made before false advertising laws were in place.

[Roodosutaa]

@CaneFu Yeah I was pretty sceptical when I saw this ad - even TODAY voice recognition on the iPhone is hit-and-miss at best (or maybe it's just my voice...). I can imagine an episode of Mad Men based around this

Although to be fair they did cover themselves by showing the kid turning a knob on the controls

[Bla31n]

RUN FOR YOUR CAREERS!

[quiettman11]

I JUST GOT MY "NEW COMAND"....AND AM AS HAPPY AS (OK MY WIFE SAY'S I MUST BE MORE" (SHE TOOK BATTERIES OUT AFTER 8 STRAIGHT HOURS......... MAKES BEING "THE ADMIRAL" SEEM ...HMM LIKE SHE MAY HAVE A SAY;)!! STILL IF YOUR IN NEED... JUST LET ME KNOW...I'LL HAVE YOUR BACK///IF MY WIFE LET'S ME HAVE BATTERIES///ODD SHE WANTS THEM SO??

ADMRIAL D.

[aaardvarkkk]

"ro-BUTT". Hilarious.

[Sheri451]

I know they didn't have in small letters that tanks don't move, or planes don't move by themselves. Plus a small scild would probably choke on the arrows, or fire them into another childs eye or the family pet. This toy couldn't pass inspection in 2010.

[endofsomething]

That looks immense!

[Madness832]

Love the kid's haircut!

[odObo01]

Awsome :D reminds me of my videos (wink)

[stoningtonj]

this was back when kids werent stupid enough to warrant safety codes on toys....i loved the old toys

[blusheep23]

that actually looks kinda kool!

[yoursaxman]

This commercial used to scare the shit out of me! Litarally giving me nightmares. I think it's funny as hell, now!

[Simon5005]

YOU'LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT, KID!

[rittercross]

Biggist box under the tree! However, my Commando had a Blue body, Red (opening) top (that shot missles), and Yellow arms. I think this one was a later version with the transparent top. The cable remote worked only by dailing and 'blowing' commands into it. It had a primitive circut that required the moving of a piece of metal to the back of the hand-held remote (supposedly accomplished by a kid's strong voice command). I loved looking into the guts of this robot! Thanks!

[Enzo012]

There's a choking hazard if ever I saw one.

[aztwam]

Holy Cow!

I received this for Christmas, but it stopped working and had to take it back.

Should have kept the darn thing working or not!

What memories

[mhirtes12]

I bet Robot Commando would totally p'wn Great Garloo in a fight.

[Neil6000]

As a 5-year old watching this commercial it was impossible for me not to ask Santa Claus for this toy.

However, the commercial gave me the impression that the toy city, tanks, and airplanes also came with the Robot Commando. Under the tree Christmas morning I only found the toy robot.

48 years later I am still waiting for Santa to bring the rest of those things to me.

[TheRedzGuy]

@Neil6000 Ebay?

[tehdusto]

EPIC