Comments on: The Ghost of Christmas Presents

By: NekBeerd

NekBeerd — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 02:01:35 +0000

Here's another one that complements your Sega ad:

By: Parrotlover77

Parrotlover77 — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:33:25 +0000

But… Reliable historians! Who can argue with that source?

By: TB Tabby

TB Tabby — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:01:12 +0000

I remind you again, that was just an urban legend:

http://www.snopes.com/military/m16.asp

And here’s that Saturn ad I mentioned:

http://cdn1.gamepro.com/article_img/gamepro/53238-2.jpg

By: Stardrake

Stardrake — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:29:38 +0000

That Game Gear ad was obviously for the British market–both the spellings (…”full colour game system…”) and the quoted price (…”£99.99!”) make this clear. Brits accept FAR more snark and innuendo in their ads than Yanks do. (After all, they shipped out their damned Puritans to us….)

On the M-16, I have heard from reliable historians of weaponry that Mattel was a subcontractor to Colt for the furniture on the M-16 (the pistol grip and foregrip). It actually makes sense–Colt didn’t know from injection molding, and Mattel were past masters of the art.

And I SO wanted an “M-16 Marauder” when I was a kid–but it was too expensive, so I wound up with Mattel’s M1 Thompson cap gun instead. Such was life…

By: KennyCelican

KennyCelican — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:55:54 +0000

At least that last pic shows us how Tammy Fae got that way.

That IS her, isn’t it? I thought I recognized the make up.

By: K-Fed

K-Fed — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 02:24:13 +0000

I would think that’s a real Sega ad. Google “The more you play with it the harder it gets”.

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=oielo8&s=3

By: YogaforCynics

YogaforCynics — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 01:13:16 +0000

I think I had something similar to that machine gun, a decade or so later.

Love the “Shoot Me Up Elmo,” even if “convulses” is misspelled…

By: TB Tabby

TB Tabby — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:45:37 +0000

The Game Gear ad is a product of the X-TREEEEEEEEEEM ’90s, when the video game companies were trying to appeal to the grunge/teen demographic by looking more superficially mature. They usually went for over-the-top violence, “Sticking It To The Man” imagery, and crude gross-out humor, but sex appeal wasn’t unheard of. There was also a Sega Saturn ad with a naked woman on with, with her naughty bits covered by screenshots. “In case you didn’t notice, there is a beautiful naked woman on this page.”

That toy M-16 started a rumor that Mattel also made the real M-16. False, obviously. Snopes has more info.