'84 D&D TV Commercial [Archive] - Wizards Community

'84 D&D TV Commercial [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Amaril
07-01-05, 10:47 AM http://www.retrojunk.com/media/167/
Nuntius128
07-01-05, 10:52 AM Haha, sweet. I'm afraid its a tiny bit before my time, so its new to me. Thanks!
Bulabase
07-01-05, 11:13 AM I had no idea that D&D was ever advertised on TV. I have to say, though, that add was bad even for the low standards of the time. I wonder how the game would be advertised today?
J Milburn
07-01-05, 11:17 AM Ooh, that is bad. Isnt that around the time that dnd got all its bad press?
Nuntius128
07-01-05, 11:23 AM Ooh, that is bad. Isnt that around the time that dnd got all its bad press?

Yeah. People still think D&D is Satanic.
J Milburn
07-01-05, 11:25 AM Yeah. People still think D&D is Satanic.

Yup. I am currently negotiating with teachers at my school to allow us to play it at lunch times, and they say that there is the possibility of parents complaining about satanic practices.

BS, IMO.
High Octane
07-01-05, 11:26 AM Ooh, that is bad. Isnt that around the time that dnd got all its bad press?

I think it may have been the CAUSE......
Bulabase
07-01-05, 11:30 AM Yup. I am currently negotiating with teachers at my school to allow us to play it at lunch times, and they say that there is the possibility of parents complaining about satanic practices.

BS, IMO.
Whatever you do, don't let them see this video. It constitutes the first irrefutable proof that D&D is in fact the work of the devil.
J Milburn
07-01-05, 11:31 AM No but seriously (i dont know what adverts were like back then however) You are not going to watch that and want to rush out and play are you?!

Its terrible, that wasnt seriously shown was it?
Chris StarShade
07-01-05, 11:33 AM Best guess says that the marketeers responsible for it were sacked the day after.
Dark Voivode
07-01-05, 12:29 PM If I remember correctly, that commercial was played on Sundays during football games. I can't complain. My mother saw the commercial and bought me the red boxed set because of it.

That was really hideous, though. My brain needs to be cleansed of that image now. Thanks Amaril for making me more ashamed I grew up in the 80's. :mad: :P
Bulabase
07-01-05, 12:30 PM Despite it's terrible excecution, the idea of the add is actually pretty good. Showing a group around a table interspersed with images of their collective imaginations seems pretty cool. With some better looking actors and CGI effects someone might be able to pull it off today. Who knows.
J Milburn
07-01-05, 12:34 PM With some better looking actors

Wouldnt that be false advertising? ;)

And werent they clips from the dnd cartoon? Was that actually being produced back then?
Amaril
07-01-05, 12:36 PM If I remember correctly, that commercial was played on Sundays during football games. I can't complain. My mother saw the commercial and bought me the red boxed set because of it.

That was really hideous, though. My brain needs to be cleansed of that image now. Thanks Amaril for making me more ashamed I grew up in the 80's. :mad: :P
Please, having been born in the mid-70's, I went through the whole website and destroyed the precious memories of my childhood!
Amaril
07-01-05, 12:38 PM Wouldnt that be false advertising? ;)

And werent they clips from the dnd cartoon? Was that actually being produced back then?
(trying to be modest here) Actually, the group I play with is a pretty attractive-looking group. I guess we're the exception to the rule? :P
Dark Voivode
07-01-05, 12:43 PM Wouldnt that be false advertising? ;)

And werent they clips from the dnd cartoon? Was that actually being produced back then?

Actually, Rankin & Bass who produced a hideous cartoon version of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings made the cartoon which just adds to the horridness. The cartoon you're talking about was bad in it's own right, btw. I still have nightmares.
Dark Voivode
07-01-05, 12:46 PM Please, having been born in the mid-70's, I went through the whole website and destroyed the precious memories of my childhood!

Hey, I know that feeling. I was actually a teenager in the 80's. I don't want to talk about this anymore. I feel old now, and I'm still trying to hold onto my illusions that things were better when I was a kid. :P
Yabanjin
07-01-05, 01:48 PM ....I'm still trying to hold onto my illusions that things were better when I was a kid. :P

Don't worry they were better.

(though the golden streets were a bit slippery in the rain)

Yeah, I know what you mean. I remember waking up several hours before the first D&D cartoon was supposed to air... That and the donkey kong cartoon... I played Zaxxon on my Coleco vision while I waited.... Ahhhhh good times.....

:surrender
GreyLord
07-01-05, 01:58 PM Actually, Rankin & Bass who produced a hideous cartoon version of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings made the cartoon which just adds to the horridness. The cartoon you're talking about was bad in it's own right, btw. I still have nightmares.

Hey, I liked the Hobbit. It was pertty close to the book, in fact mayhaps closer to the book than the recent Elephant surfing, Elfs coming to the aid to at Helms Deep, the Riders saving Rohan by riding into the vale at the last minute, last two movies of the recent trilogy.

Neither does justice to the books however.

Ranking and Bass also made one of the best and greatest D&D cartoons ever created (well, not exactly D&D, but it has it's similarities, with a Fighter/Paladin, Monk, Rogue, and other types of archtypal characters) in the form of the cartoon...Thundercats! (also contested by some as the first Japanese Anime that was US sponsored...as many were Asian in it's creation...though I still think Robotech might have gotten here first...it's so long ago).
SinisterSeraph
07-01-05, 04:17 PM Wouldnt that be false advertising? ;)

And werent they clips from the dnd cartoon? Was that actually being produced back then?

Yes the DND Cartoon was being produced back then, but those scenes were not from that series. The DnD cartoon was actually one of my favs, and any who doubt it could be cool should look up the past issue of Dungeon which had Warduke as a Critical Threat! Venger would also be cool if properly updated...

Anyone esle remember the DnD toys? They had two sets. One set tied directly into the show and had the characters from it, (Warduke, the little barbarian kid, etc) and the other featured monsters taht could be used either with the show toys or as "visual aids" for the game. I had the Titan, the minotaur, fire elemental, carrion crawler, almost all of 'em from both lines....

Gads I feel old. I was a geek practically from the cradle!
SnowbearK
07-02-05, 03:38 AM Wow...I hadn't realized that my beard was THAT grey. Geez...I think I actually have a betatape with that commercial on it.
EvilDuck
07-02-05, 05:29 AM Yup. I am currently negotiating with teachers at my school to allow us to play it at lunch times, and they say that there is the possibility of parents complaining about satanic practices.

BS, IMO.

Lemme guess, you're in middle school. At my high school, as long as you're not shooting, stabbing, or burning anyone, they don't care. All I ever did at lunch for the first two years was play Magic. The amount of concern for Satanic practices is inversely proportional to the grade level of the school.
J Milburn
07-02-05, 07:34 AM What!? Do i know you?
J Milburn
07-02-05, 07:56 AM Err... hes a teacher.

Ahh, its azar. Why the constantly changing names?
J Milburn
07-02-05, 08:09 AM If you are sure...
EvilDuck
07-02-05, 09:19 AM :confused:

I take it you're an emo kid. Remember, go down the sidewalk, not across the highway.

This '84 D&D commercial's cool. It's all retro and stuff. But 80's retro is in. And I like this commercial. Which makes me a hipster. Nooooo! *shoots self*
WitheringSolid
07-02-05, 09:50 AM As I recall, they were trying to market it as a family game no different then Monopoly or Yatzee. Unfortunatly around this time Satanic Ritual Abuse was being touted as the reason for Multiple Personality Disorder etc, and people went to jail baised on implanted memories and NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE...not a pentagram or spent candle found.
I am still amazed that in the age of LOTR, Harry Potter etc. people have no problem watching movies, reading books in a fantacy genre, BUT LET THEM PRETEND TO BE THERE THEMSELVES??
If you belive playing such games is an unwholesome activity, fine. Some of the game content could give some folks pause. But you had better stay away from movies and books etc. along those same lines becuase if you watch LOTRs and imagine yourself there..Guess what?..Your playing solo d&d, without the dice:devil:
rbrt_Spade
07-02-05, 10:44 AM i would not consider D&D a family game-a lot of things in it could affend people like the demons, devils, some of the pictures are graphic, and some of it is inapropriant for kids. i would say to play 13+ years of age
but thats my thoughts-i guess it depends on your point of view on things
ssampier
07-02-05, 02:01 PM The commercial is terrible, but that commercial was producted twenty years ago. Honestly how many commercials stand the test of time? My guess is very few.

From my foggy memory, I remember the commercial for the Milton Bradley game "HeroQuest" was decently produced (and it was a fun game in its own right). If anyone can find that clip, they deserve a cookie :cookie:
Thrak
07-02-05, 03:27 PM Now I wasnt even born yet when that commercial came out. I think my parents had not even met yet. So I thought I'd show it to my dad, a DND veteran from the 70's. He would have been 21 in '84. He saw the comercial and laughed his ass off. He saw a group of nerds and a pedophile as the DM. He is a warped individual. He also thoght the girl with braids was hot. I like the other girl myself, nice and nerdy. But we are not nerds here! NO! We are fantasy enthusiests (if I spelled that right). That commercial should be aired today, unaltered. It would probably attract more players.
Lennart
07-02-05, 05:25 PM Thanks men that link as soon as I brows the site I found this.

http://www.retrojunk.com/media/126/

By the way does any body know where I can download full episodes?

Oh oh I don’t remember where I got it any more but I still have the script for the last episode somewhere around here.
EvilDuck
07-02-05, 06:58 PM And remember, loop around the neck, not over the groin.

Seriously, where do you guys get this "pmg he'z n emo kid lolol" :censored: from?

I was joking with you because your response consisted of only a :( No offense intended.
Creeg
07-02-05, 07:48 PM OMG I remember that commerical, LOL I had just started playing when it came out. Thank you for the laugh and the memory
Green Cobra
07-02-05, 07:56 PM I was joking with you because your response consisted of only a :( No offense intended.

No problem, sorry for overreacting myself :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Amaril 07-01-05, 10:47 AM	http://www.retrojunk.com/media/167/
Nuntius128 07-01-05, 10:52 AM	Haha, sweet. I'm afraid its a tiny bit before my time, so its new to me. Thanks!
Bulabase 07-01-05, 11:13 AM	I had no idea that D&D was ever advertised on TV. I have to say, though, that add was bad even for the low standards of the time. I wonder how the game would be advertised today?
J Milburn 07-01-05, 11:17 AM	Ooh, that is bad. Isnt that around the time that dnd got all its bad press?
Nuntius128 07-01-05, 11:23 AM	Ooh, that is bad. Isnt that around the time that dnd got all its bad press? Yeah. People still think D&D is Satanic.
J Milburn 07-01-05, 11:25 AM	Yeah. People still think D&D is Satanic. Yup. I am currently negotiating with teachers at my school to allow us to play it at lunch times, and they say that there is the possibility of parents complaining about satanic practices. BS, IMO.
High Octane 07-01-05, 11:26 AM	Ooh, that is bad. Isnt that around the time that dnd got all its bad press? I think it may have been the CAUSE......
Bulabase 07-01-05, 11:30 AM	Yup. I am currently negotiating with teachers at my school to allow us to play it at lunch times, and they say that there is the possibility of parents complaining about satanic practices. BS, IMO. Whatever you do, don't let them see this video. It constitutes the first irrefutable proof that D&D is in fact the work of the devil.
J Milburn 07-01-05, 11:31 AM	No but seriously (i dont know what adverts were like back then however) You are not going to watch that and want to rush out and play are you?! Its terrible, that wasnt seriously shown was it?
Chris StarShade 07-01-05, 11:33 AM	Best guess says that the marketeers responsible for it were sacked the day after.
Dark Voivode 07-01-05, 12:29 PM	If I remember correctly, that commercial was played on Sundays during football games. I can't complain. My mother saw the commercial and bought me the red boxed set because of it. That was really hideous, though. My brain needs to be cleansed of that image now. Thanks Amaril for making me more ashamed I grew up in the 80's. :mad: :P
Bulabase 07-01-05, 12:30 PM	Despite it's terrible excecution, the idea of the add is actually pretty good. Showing a group around a table interspersed with images of their collective imaginations seems pretty cool. With some better looking actors and CGI effects someone might be able to pull it off today. Who knows.
J Milburn 07-01-05, 12:34 PM	With some better looking actors Wouldnt that be false advertising? ;) And werent they clips from the dnd cartoon? Was that actually being produced back then?
Amaril 07-01-05, 12:36 PM	If I remember correctly, that commercial was played on Sundays during football games. I can't complain. My mother saw the commercial and bought me the red boxed set because of it. That was really hideous, though. My brain needs to be cleansed of that image now. Thanks Amaril for making me more ashamed I grew up in the 80's. :mad: :P Please, having been born in the mid-70's, I went through the whole website and destroyed the precious memories of my childhood!
Amaril 07-01-05, 12:38 PM	Wouldnt that be false advertising? ;) And werent they clips from the dnd cartoon? Was that actually being produced back then? (trying to be modest here) Actually, the group I play with is a pretty attractive-looking group. I guess we're the exception to the rule? :P
Dark Voivode 07-01-05, 12:43 PM	Wouldnt that be false advertising? ;) And werent they clips from the dnd cartoon? Was that actually being produced back then? Actually, Rankin & Bass who produced a hideous cartoon version of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings made the cartoon which just adds to the horridness. The cartoon you're talking about was bad in it's own right, btw. I still have nightmares.
Dark Voivode 07-01-05, 12:46 PM	Please, having been born in the mid-70's, I went through the whole website and destroyed the precious memories of my childhood! Hey, I know that feeling. I was actually a teenager in the 80's. I don't want to talk about this anymore. I feel old now, and I'm still trying to hold onto my illusions that things were better when I was a kid. :P
Yabanjin 07-01-05, 01:48 PM	....I'm still trying to hold onto my illusions that things were better when I was a kid. :P Don't worry they were better. (though the golden streets were a bit slippery in the rain) Yeah, I know what you mean. I remember waking up several hours before the first D&D cartoon was supposed to air... That and the donkey kong cartoon... I played Zaxxon on my Coleco vision while I waited.... Ahhhhh good times..... :surrender
GreyLord 07-01-05, 01:58 PM	Actually, Rankin & Bass who produced a hideous cartoon version of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings made the cartoon which just adds to the horridness. The cartoon you're talking about was bad in it's own right, btw. I still have nightmares. Hey, I liked the Hobbit. It was pertty close to the book, in fact mayhaps closer to the book than the recent Elephant surfing, Elfs coming to the aid to at Helms Deep, the Riders saving Rohan by riding into the vale at the last minute, last two movies of the recent trilogy. Neither does justice to the books however. Ranking and Bass also made one of the best and greatest D&D cartoons ever created (well, not exactly D&D, but it has it's similarities, with a Fighter/Paladin, Monk, Rogue, and other types of archtypal characters) in the form of the cartoon...Thundercats! (also contested by some as the first Japanese Anime that was US sponsored...as many were Asian in it's creation...though I still think Robotech might have gotten here first...it's so long ago).
SinisterSeraph 07-01-05, 04:17 PM	Wouldnt that be false advertising? ;) And werent they clips from the dnd cartoon? Was that actually being produced back then? Yes the DND Cartoon was being produced back then, but those scenes were not from that series. The DnD cartoon was actually one of my favs, and any who doubt it could be cool should look up the past issue of Dungeon which had Warduke as a Critical Threat! Venger would also be cool if properly updated... Anyone esle remember the DnD toys? They had two sets. One set tied directly into the show and had the characters from it, (Warduke, the little barbarian kid, etc) and the other featured monsters taht could be used either with the show toys or as "visual aids" for the game. I had the Titan, the minotaur, fire elemental, carrion crawler, almost all of 'em from both lines.... Gads I feel old. I was a geek practically from the cradle!
SnowbearK 07-02-05, 03:38 AM	Wow...I hadn't realized that my beard was THAT grey. Geez...I think I actually have a betatape with that commercial on it.
EvilDuck 07-02-05, 05:29 AM	Yup. I am currently negotiating with teachers at my school to allow us to play it at lunch times, and they say that there is the possibility of parents complaining about satanic practices. BS, IMO. Lemme guess, you're in middle school. At my high school, as long as you're not shooting, stabbing, or burning anyone, they don't care. All I ever did at lunch for the first two years was play Magic. The amount of concern for Satanic practices is inversely proportional to the grade level of the school.
J Milburn 07-02-05, 07:34 AM	What!? Do i know you?
J Milburn 07-02-05, 07:56 AM	Err... hes a teacher. Ahh, its azar. Why the constantly changing names?
J Milburn 07-02-05, 08:09 AM	If you are sure...
EvilDuck 07-02-05, 09:19 AM	:confused: I take it you're an emo kid. Remember, go down the sidewalk, not across the highway. This '84 D&D commercial's cool. It's all retro and stuff. But 80's retro is in. And I like this commercial. Which makes me a hipster. Nooooo! shoots self
WitheringSolid 07-02-05, 09:50 AM	As I recall, they were trying to market it as a family game no different then Monopoly or Yatzee. Unfortunatly around this time Satanic Ritual Abuse was being touted as the reason for Multiple Personality Disorder etc, and people went to jail baised on implanted memories and NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE...not a pentagram or spent candle found. I am still amazed that in the age of LOTR, Harry Potter etc. people have no problem watching movies, reading books in a fantacy genre, BUT LET THEM PRETEND TO BE THERE THEMSELVES?? If you belive playing such games is an unwholesome activity, fine. Some of the game content could give some folks pause. But you had better stay away from movies and books etc. along those same lines becuase if you watch LOTRs and imagine yourself there..Guess what?..Your playing solo d&d, without the dice:devil:
rbrt_Spade 07-02-05, 10:44 AM	i would not consider D&D a family game-a lot of things in it could affend people like the demons, devils, some of the pictures are graphic, and some of it is inapropriant for kids. i would say to play 13+ years of age but thats my thoughts-i guess it depends on your point of view on things
ssampier 07-02-05, 02:01 PM	The commercial is terrible, but that commercial was producted twenty years ago. Honestly how many commercials stand the test of time? My guess is very few. From my foggy memory, I remember the commercial for the Milton Bradley game "HeroQuest" was decently produced (and it was a fun game in its own right). If anyone can find that clip, they deserve a cookie :cookie:
Thrak 07-02-05, 03:27 PM	Now I wasnt even born yet when that commercial came out. I think my parents had not even met yet. So I thought I'd show it to my dad, a DND veteran from the 70's. He would have been 21 in '84. He saw the comercial and laughed his ass off. He saw a group of nerds and a pedophile as the DM. He is a warped individual. He also thoght the girl with braids was hot. I like the other girl myself, nice and nerdy. But we are not nerds here! NO! We are fantasy enthusiests (if I spelled that right). That commercial should be aired today, unaltered. It would probably attract more players.
Lennart 07-02-05, 05:25 PM	Thanks men that link as soon as I brows the site I found this. http://www.retrojunk.com/media/126/ By the way does any body know where I can download full episodes? Oh oh I don’t remember where I got it any more but I still have the script for the last episode somewhere around here.
EvilDuck 07-02-05, 06:58 PM	And remember, loop around the neck, not over the groin. Seriously, where do you guys get this "pmg he'z n emo kid lolol" :censored: from? I was joking with you because your response consisted of only a :( No offense intended.
Creeg 07-02-05, 07:48 PM	OMG I remember that commerical, LOL I had just started playing when it came out. Thank you for the laugh and the memory
Green Cobra 07-02-05, 07:56 PM	I was joking with you because your response consisted of only a :( No offense intended. No problem, sorry for overreacting myself :)