So, in other words - artwork that left little to the imagination and spelled it all out for a kid with no imagination because he was now becoming more and more programmed by TV. The 1980s (and part of the later 70s) was the beginning of the end of good vintage toy artwork, in my opinion. Prior to that, particularly the 60s and early 70s, you had imaginative artwork that didn't sell an idea, necessarily, or whose purpose was to cross promote or make clear what the item was (if you didn't know you had bigger problems), it just sold a cool toy and inspired a kids imagination. Look at the early GI Joe ("your dad's 12 inch figures", according to this video- I didn't know many kids in the 80s who parents played with GI Joes in the 70s, but maybe this guy knew lots of sexually active 10 year olds). That early 12 inch GI Joe artwork was actually amazing (unlike the little Joes) and inspiring. Also, you didn't have everything spelled out for you. And the artwork made up most of the packaging rather than logos and descriptive wording and blank black space and "American flag colors" etc. Look at the Major Matt Mason boxes- amazing little sets with the toys set up. That's all that needed to be said, a whole world was in that box and you didn't need to spell it out for a kid. Hot Wheels play sets had AMAZING art, even when they used photos. These 80s GI Joe packages were very ugly, poorly painted, and minimal by comparison. This is hardly the standard by which to judge toy box art.
Sean
Sean
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