Santa’s Anti-Rambo and He-Man in 1986
I’ve already posted before about the anti-Rambo toy sentiment of the eighties (see “Bernard Loomis Comments on Coleco’s “Rambo†Action Figures” and “Up In Arms Over Guns In Toylandâ€), and now I’d like to direct your attention to the Toledo Blade newspaper article in which ‘Santa Quits.’
The article — from November 26, 1986 — tells the story of Maury Graham, a mall Santa who decided it was time to say no to playing Santa at Christmas. Why? Well, as Graham says in the article:
” . . . I don’t want to deal with [being a public Santa] until they get back to decent toys that aren’t anti-Christmas.”
In the story, Graham points to Masters of the Universe and Rambo toys as two of the worst offenders of the time, and this turns out to be just one more attack against toys in the eighties. I’m betting Graham was happy to see both toy lines fade into obscurity the next year.
Related articles
- “‘Scent-sational’ toys due to hit market” (battlegrip.com)
- 1966: “You Can’t Build a Business on Fads.” (battlegrip.com)
- Toy Sales and Aggressive Fantasy in 1985 (battlegrip.com)