Hi,

I am a picture researcher for Glasgow's Museum of Transport. I am currently working on the Riverside Project - this is a project to develop displays for a new museum that is to be built at the point where the river Kelvin and Clyde meet. In the new museum will be 3 streets that show how life, transport, entertainment and so forth have developed over time. In the third street there is to be a Toy Shop. I am to source advertisements for this shop. The key message for the display is how, in the 1980s, there is an increasing range of toys and games for kids to play with and that this is when companies start really advertising directly to children. I'm especially interested in the link between TV marketing (& cinema) and the toy brands. Commercials often showed kids playing with a whole scene of toys so the toys were seen 'in action' and kids were encouraged to collect the whole scene. I hope to source some advertisements from the 1980s that reflect this, especially TV stills. I hope to source some advertisements from the 1980s that reflect this, especially TV stills. I've listed below all the brands of toys that will be in the display and put the manufacturer in brackets:

Sindy (Hasbro)
Barbie (Mattell)
BMX (film ET)
Computer gaming (Spectrum ZX & Atari)
Transformers (Hasbro)
My Little Pony (Hasbro)
Star Wars (Kenner then taken over by Hasbro in 1991 & in particular links with the films 'Empire Strikes Back' and 'The Return of the Jedi')

Does any body know where I can source such adverts?

I would be very grateful indeed for any advice you can give me on my search.

Many thanks for your time.

Kindest regards,

Heather Robertson

Research Assistant for Images
Riverside Museum Project
Museum of Transport
1 Bunhouse Road
Glasgow G3 8DP

Tel:0141 287 2641
Fax: 0141 287 2726

Email:heathercls.robertson@csglasgow.org

Have you contacted any ad agencies? They might still have stuff on file,

Hello Heather,

This sounds like a very interesting project indeed. This might be a long shot, but I've seen lots of toy commercials from the 80's posted on YouTube, and it might be worth trying to contact whoever posted these videos to see if you can get a copy of their stuff in its original format.

Good luck with your research.

Imaginary Eric