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Batteries not Included "a Collection of Vintage Toy Commercials

by: Jon Behrens

Publication date: 2009

Usage: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States

Topics: Toy Commercials, vintage television commercial, Third Eye Cinema, Classic TV, pop culture

Batteries Not Included is a film that I put together early this year, after I made the film I did not know what to do with it because it is so much different than the Experimental art films that I am most known for doing. I decided to release this film on the internet and I thought the best place to do this would be right here on the Internet Archives.

About the Film:
Almost as long as I have been a filmmaker I have also been a film collector. I have for many years wanted to assemble a collection of vintage toy commercials into a flowing little feature length film, that feature all of these wonderful toys from 1950's 1960's and 1970's all of the major toy companies are represented in this film. Matel, Ideal, Hasbro, Marx, Aurora and many many others. So strap your self in and take a trip back through your childhood and you may discover a commercial for a toy that had a kid and my hope is that it will spark pleasant memory's from those days.

Enjoy and Best Regards
Jon Behrens

Contact Information: Contributed by Jon Behrens

Addeddate: 2009-06-12 22:16:25

Color: color/b/w

Identifier: batteriesnotincluded_2009

Run time: 58 Min

Sound: sound

Year: 2009

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Reviews

Reviewer: AJ1970 - - June 8, 2017
Subject: Amazing!

I was not born when these toys were played with, but the kids looked like they had a blast with all of them, where is the fun nowadays?

I wish I had most of these :)

Thanks for a glimpse into my parents' childhoods.

Reviewer: iceman'smom - - March 10, 2017
Subject: 5 Stars down memory lane

Thank You for creating such a wonderful collection of commercials for the toys of my era.

Reviewer: Stephen Strange - - February 3, 2017
Subject: I wish I had some of these toys now!

I was born in '58. So some of these I remember and some I don't. But, this is a wonderful collection of commercials. The quality is also much better than similar things that I've seen.
Thank you for collecting them and putting them up here so I can see them again.

Reviewer: franktking07 - - September 11, 2013
Subject: Great Compilation of Commercials

This just takes me back to Saturday morning cartoons.

Reviewer: Greg479 - - February 24, 2013
Subject: Re-live the disappointment.

Seeing these ads reminds me of the disappointment of actually getting some of them.

Even so, great collection. Thanks for making and sharing it.

Reviewer: jeangnome - - December 15, 2012
Subject: Walk Down Memory Lane

Fun way to spend a Saturday morning. Toy ads were so much better back then! Did anyone else spot Patty Duke in the first ad (Remco drive-in-movie toy)? She hasn't changed a bit.

Reviewer: Bolexman - - June 2, 2012
Subject: This is great!!

This is my wonderful collection of vintage toy commercials that I put together into a feature length film - ENJOY

Reviewer: Htos1 - - March 24, 2012
Subject: Excellent!

I find it synchronous that I find this on a notable anniversary of Mr.Potato Head-60years this week!Very cool!
Thanks,Mr.Behrens,for the post,I saw 90% of these commercials as a child,loved it!

Reviewer: Chuck55555 - - February 15, 2012
Subject: Time Machine

Thank you very much for the time machine ride. The toys I recognized brought back some real fond memories of my past. I'm glad you took the effort and time to put this together and enjoyed this very much!

Chuck C.

Reviewer: recarter64 - - May 21, 2011
Subject: Great!

Great job and great quality video.Some really cool toys.

Reviewer: lmchays - - October 28, 2010
Subject: Wonderful "movie" - thanks for sharing it!

As I told my friends on Facebook when I shared this, I don't recall most of these commercials because the church my parents attended back then believed television was evil. We weren't allowed to watch it at anyone else's house either. I didn't get a television until around 1964 so I missed out on the commercials and the toys! Love it and the reviews others have posted.

Reviewer: rodneyhackenflash - - October 26, 2010
Subject: Great Comercials of the past maybe the best !!

I don't know how anybody could NOT give this a 5 star rating! As a little kid I wanted the Great Garloo so bad ! No I never Got it But it was great seeing it again! Its amazing how one remembers every detail of things ! I just WISH one Day They start making Toys in The USA again to put our people Back To Work!!

Reviewer: Dr Feel Rotten - - October 23, 2010
Subject: I loved the lie detector selling a real playboy!

My dad had playboys in the closet about that time, but mom wouldn't let us look through them.. I dunno why. I was a whole 6 at the time.

Reviewer: stingrayfilms - - October 22, 2010
Subject: A great time capsule

Although most of this was a tad ahead of my time, totally identified with the Maj. Matt Mason, Marx Army men, and GI Joe ads. Amazed at how complicated and detailed many of these were (giant tanks, .30 cal machine guns, flight simulators etc.). Incredible how unsafe most of the gun and rocket toys were. None of them could be sold today. The soldier (in Vietnam?) handing the kid an M-16 replica was kind of shocking. And today that bazooka-like Sonic Blaster would be considered a "Little Terrorist Starter Kit". Thanks for posting this.

Reviewer: Zplomb - - September 27, 2010
Subject: Socialization of boys and girls

Wow. Someone could do a thesis on this collection. Really. The boys toys are all action based and the girls have dolls. Some of these toys seem really cool, though. Thanks for compiling and uploading these.

Reviewer: karen608 - - August 28, 2010
Subject: retro remembering

Very interesting to see the marketing & toys of long ago TV days. The girls are girly and boys with short hair & desires to be soldiers, air force etc. The sonic air gun is much like the air blasters now. Really enjoyed the Chatty Cathy & Crissy ads, since I had no memory of them.

Reviewer: DruP.Drawers - - August 1, 2010
Subject: battereies not included.

Watch the end of the first commercisl about the toy drive-in movie. Isn't that Patty Duke winking at us? Who knows what future star one might find in these old commercials.

Reviewer: moogieman63 - - July 8, 2010
Subject: So Vintage

as a child from the 60's I relate,,love this stuff,,ty =)

Reviewer: Pleonic - - April 3, 2010
Subject: My Childhood

There's my childhood right there -- I must have had at least half these toys and yearned for most of the others. It's amazing how many of the toys reflected the World War 2 experience. All of our parents had fought in or grown up during the war and I remember acting it out with rifles and grenades with my friends for hours on end. The space program was a big influence too: I was glad to see my favorite toy from back then, Major Matt Mason. Fantastic, inventive stuff!

Incidentally, the lead boy in the commercial for the rifle that shoots both caps and water was Billy Mummy -- "Will Robinson" on Lost In Space.

Thanks for the compilation. I was hooked the whole hour!

Reviewer: Verbusen - - April 3, 2010
Subject: Retro Cool!

Thanks for compiling these toy commercials. Back when imagination ruled the day. I remember (late 60's - mid 70's) having hot wheels and matchbox cars but the one I got all worked about having was a hot wheels type plane that came with a fishing string that you tied around the house and let the plane slide down it, oh and who can forget GI Joe back then? Thanks again, these toys with the original boxes are worth a fortune now!

Reviewer: bcourson - - November 1, 2009
Subject: Very fun to watch

The little girl in the first commercial with the drive-in-movie theater is Patty Duke.

Reviewer: Dr. Greybeard - - September 13, 2009
Subject: Cut-and-paste 'film making'

The review by 'Bolexman' in which he takes credit for and gives himself the highest rating of 'his' work is a non sequitur. This film is a collection of the work of others, an act of clip shuffling, not of film making. Pity the creators of these toy commercials, their names lost to the sands of time, who are the true makers of this film.

Reviewer: Tim Riches - - July 5, 2009
Subject: Expertly edited collection!

This is an expertly edited collection of old toy commercials! You can tell that much thought went into the placement of each one, resulting in a cohesive whole. For those of my age group, (1969) it's captivating watching these gems, recognizing tactics advertisers would develop more fully as time went on. The prices are also very interesting, given a little knowledge of inflation!

Thanks for sharing this with us, Jon Behrens!

Reviewer: HSFSA - - June 18, 2009
Subject: Very nice

An unpretentious and comfortable tour of 1950's-1960's children's toy advertisements. The pacing is smooth and smart and never jars. Just when you think it can't be topped, the next ad outdoes its predecessor. Purists and casual viewers alike will thoroughly enjoy this very well-done and affectionately rendered collection.

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