It’s been quite a year for toy history as archival video has surfaced online from the 1980 launch of Kenner’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back toys, a tour of Toys “R” Us circa 1991, and the 1997 launch of Tamagotchi at FAO Schwarz. Now, another video is making the rounds that’s been hiding in the shadows on YouTube for the past nine years.
An unlisted video showcasing the Hasbro booth at a 1987 French Toy Fair was uploaded to YouTube on July 20, 2012. Until earlier this week, the video only had a handful of views before it started making the toy industry rounds. This video time capsule features demos of then-new products from Hasbro’s G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Jem and the Holograms, Transformers, and other brands, including some deep cuts, such as Battle Beasts, Ninja Warriors, Moon Dreamers, and Bingo Bear. The video closes with a few words from late Hasbro Chairman and CEO Stephen D. Hassenfeld, who died just two years after the video was shot.
https://youtu.be/jllWWJszxwo
34 years later, many of the toy lines featured in this video are still going strong. My Little Pony relaunches this fall while Transformers continues to do big business. Characters from Jem recently got the ReAction Figures treatment from Super7, and later this month, G.I. Joe comes roaring back to the big screen with Paramount Pictures’ Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins.
