GoBots and Wheeled Warriors on Sale in 1985

November 21, 1985. This 1985 newspaper ad for the Tonka GoBots and Mattel Wheeled Warriors is a snapshot of the toy industry at the time. Lots of high-concept boys’ toylines with associated cartoons, and everyone throwing millions of dollars at ideas in a hope that something will stick and become a hit. There were more failures than successes, and the resulting overload of toylines left many of us with an unrealistic expectation that today’s toymakers will never meet.