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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 21h

Halloween: it’s not just for kids anymore (The Vincennes Sun-Commercial, Vincennes, IN, 10/26/90)

RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 23h

Years before Fright Night or Married With Children, Amanda Bearse actually made a live appearance at Kiddie City. I assume the idea was moms meet the Soap stars and bring the kids along for toys or last minute Halloween costumes. Sounds like a plan (Philly Inquirer, 10/28/83)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The Phanatic spent the hour shaking his butt in children’s faces and asking for ideas to torment Tommy LaSorda (Philly Inquirer, 6/21/84)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Hulkster spent the hour making workout shakes with “special powder” for children (Philly Inquirer, 3/29/84)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Nothing said “this is a dope flea market” like vendors with ninja stars. Bootleg tapes were right behind though, and here’s some vendors getting popped for them (Miami Herald, 2/5/90)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I’m really having nostalgia for all the unlicensed and bootleg stuff at 80’s/early 90’s flea markets, so expect more articles like this one on Bart Simpson shirts (The Boston Globe, 6/20/90)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The Joker and Penguin spent the hour telling children how they almost got Batman (York Daily Record, York, PA, 10/4/85)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Bob spent the hour making children recite the name of every U.S. President in order (Hartford Courant, 3/21/84)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Sarge spent the hour making children do push ups (Philly Inquirer, 9/3/87)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Destro spent the hour complaining to children about Cobra Commander (Philly Inquirer, 9/23/83)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Cap’n Crunch and Burger King need to collaborate more often (Omaha World-Herald, Omaha, NE, 4/18/76)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Wrath of Khan, Dumbo or Rocky III free with the purchase of any RCA Videodisc Player! Hurry, offer expires Christmas Eve (The News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, 12/9/82)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Team America was Ideal’s big concept to revive the Evel Knieval Stunt Bikes, one of the greatest toys ever made, for 80s kids. They teamed with Marvel Comics on the project to…mixed results. Timing was off up against Masters of the Universe and GI Joe taking off

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Raley’s had Halloween going on with those wonderful Glittering Ghouls, more pre-Scream Ghostface masks (me, I love the white hood/glow mask version) and fiendish “horror masks” (Reno Gazette-Journal, Reno, NV, 10/27/93)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Spooky specials include the Ghostface mask (pre-Scream!) and Living Nightmare stage blood🩸(The Sacremento Bee, 10/13/93)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Talking Beetlejuice was such a big deal that he got the prime real estate square in the middle of this TRU ad (Enterprise-Record, Chico, CA, 1/4/90)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Look at all this wonderful stuff! (Orlando Sentinel, 9/17/92)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This TRU ad perfectly captures the essence of early 1990: the Batwing, Pizza Thrower, NA He-Man figures, water squirting Pepsi cans and Tonka RPM’s (The Times, Shreveport, LA, 5/20/90)

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Reposted by RetroNewsAds

Sawcesome @sawcesome.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I can't even fucking believe this right now. RIP PAC Gravity might have forgotten you, but we never will.

RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

May or may not have solved the Brass Battle Cat mystery, but certainly found a vital clue (The Columbia Record, Columbia, SC, 12/16/86)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

So much to unpack here: Acme had Star Trek coloring books, Monster Cereal erasers, 5 packs of Marvel comics, Dragons Lair puffy stickers and *bags* of Deiner mythical creatures ALL on sale! I love the encouragement to give comics and toys to trick or treaters! (LNP, Lancaster, PA, 10/20/85)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Gobblin’ good savings on Monster Cereals (The Journal News, White Plains, NY, 10/25/78)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Osco Drug with a particularly enticing Halloween spread: glow in the dark Jason masks, Telco pumpkins, Blinkey lights, spider webs and HATS. What else do ya need? (The Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction, CO, 10/14/89)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Looking good, my fellow ghouls (Miami Herald, 10/25/87)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Halloween Party Time at Eckerd’s! Dig the Creepy Creatures makeup kits and the Jack o Lantern flashlight (Atlanta Journal, 10/16/83)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

More Halloween Drug Store goodness, this time from Osco (Post-Bulletin, Rochester, MN, 10/24/83)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Speak for yrself (Pacific Daily News, Agana Heights, Guam, 8/8/86)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Fast Food meets The Movies (that cartoon is the most 1989 thing possible) (Star-News, Wilmington, NC, 7/9/89)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

There really was a epidemic of Batman standees being stolen from Taco Bell locations in 1989 (Ventura County Star, Ventura, CA, 7/21/89)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Eckerd Drugs with a decent Halloween spread. They’re even pushing an off brand mini keyboard! (The Tennessean, Nashville, TN, 10/16/88)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Shocktober Week had a pretty solid lineup (Syracuse Herald-Journal, Syracuse, NY, 10/25/87)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The AWA is alive and grappling! For another 18 months at least… (Winnipeg Sun, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 12/26/88)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Kmart with a huge GI Joe ad showcasing almost the entire collection to that point! Look at those prices and weep (The Birmingham News, Birmingham, AL, 9/21/83)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

KMart with a superhero heavy Halloween ad and wow that Big Bird line art looks freaky (The Louisville Times, 10/22/80)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Kiddie City providing Christmas 1986 to kids in the Philly area with steep discounts on Transformers, Pound Puppies, Photon home sets, Cabbage Patch Kids and Go-Bots for 99 cents! (Philly Inquirer, 12/5/86)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

So I was checking to make sure my memory of the Photon TV show airing in Philly at 6am Saturday mornings was correct. It was. No wonder the toys had no chance. Well, in the process I came across this neat little write up on the actual Photon arena in Kenilworth, NJ (Philly Inquirer, 4/3/86)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Nifty Red Skull costume, kid (The Observer, La Grande, OR, 11/1/79)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Mad Scientist kits: Collect them all! Unfortunately you’ll have to use eBay these days (The Daily Spectrum, St. George, UT, 3/3/88)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Who’s up for a looooong thread? I *promise* it’ll be rewarding. So this morning at the flea market I found a copy of the October 1991 Diamond Previews. For those who aren’t aware, Previews are/were giant catalogs that you could use to order a whole variety of stuff from your local comic shop

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

An Invitation to Horror! Video Plus had a Halloween Costume contest with one of those huge 3D NoES wall plaques as the grand prize! Groovy (The College Heights Herald, Bowling Green, KY, 10/28/86)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Sammy Sneeze, D’Compose and Slobulus have always been a positive influence on me. YMMV (The Pantagraph, Bloomington, IL, 12/9/87)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

What a combo! Make it a double feature! And the legendary F13 3D poster was on sale in the lobby! (Enterprise-Record, Chico, CA, 8/20/82)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Hey, Kids! Spider-Man is dropping by Video Warehouse to promote the Marvel Comics Video Library (remember them?) (Atlanta Constitution, 10/11/85)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Never heard of Sprouse Reitz but they seem to have been a huge chain in the Western states. This Halloween ad is filled with Topstone and Ben Cooper goodies (Blue Mountain Eagle, John Day, OR, 10/25/79)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

These are incredible Mystique and Ghost Rider cosplays for 1981. Shout out to El Paso Comic Con (El Paso Times, 10/19/81)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Develop your film at Drug Fair, get a free Big Mac! (Independent Record, Helena, MT, 9/16/83)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Look at this great ad for Hallmark’s Jaws 3D poster! (The Globe, Worthington, MN, 9/9/83)

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RetroNewsAds @retronewsads.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

City Wide Meeting to discuss the evils of Masters of the Universe toys! Be there! (The Kilgore News Herald, Kilgore, TX, 9/6/87)

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Reposted by RetroNewsAds

Tom Danger @afunghoul.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Getting together to watch “Deception of a Generation” was definitely the most interesting thing to do that weekend in the whole state of Montana (The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT, 3/27/87)

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