Mattel International 1969 Promotional Brochure

Mattel International 1969 Promotional Brochure Cover

Paul's Notes:

This is a straightforward 8-page brochure containing one page on each main Mattel toy line.

Although signed by Mattel Toymakers, all texts in this brochure are in black only for easy translation/adaptation. No doubt this same brochure saw use in other markets and for various possible occasions.

This particular example is in French, but I've also seen photocopies of a Flemish version. The texts have here been adapted for the local feast of St Nicolas* on December 6, though of course none of the imagery associated with that event is present in the brochure.

The cover states "For all children of the world, Saint Nicolas is Mattel". The MMM page inside shows a nice moonscape under the heading "Have them discover the exciting world of space with Major Matt Mason and his crew."

Mattel International 1969 Promotional Brochure MMM Page

A funny thing about my copy is that one enterprising Brussels toy store apparently decided to give this brochure a more personalized note by adding an extra cover. A hole in the front shows the Mattel kids peeping out, while the inside back cover was used to advertise another space toy *not* made by Mattel!

(*: St Nicolas is the patron saint of children, and his 'birthday' always was the occasion for the exchange of gifts in the Benelux and to a lesser extent in France. In fact the anglo-saxon Santa Claus derives from St Nicolas, but somehow changed appearance and got associated with Christmas. Nowadays it is quite common to see pictures of St Nick meeting his alter ego to boost end-of-year sales figures.)

 

Mattel International 1969 Promotional Brochure Extra Cover

John's Notes:

I especially like the Sgt Storm figure wearing the decontamination gun riding a Cat Trac in the lower left of the main image. Once again, it always amazes me when I see ads for foreign markets, as they usually do not make it to the US as part of the US campaigns. 

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