TAtTF: Action Force
In Great Britain they never had G.I. Joe, they had Action Man. So when it came time for G.I. Joe to scale down and become G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, the British got Action Force. (Okay, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but it pretty much boils down to G.I. Joe = Action Force in the later years of the Action Force line.) Here’s a few Action Force commercials I found on YouTube all mashed together in one convenient ad:
The first thing that I have to mention is that I love the animations found in the G.I. Joe commercials, since they look like they could have been a part of the series. The thing about the first ad with Tomax and Xamot is that it’s clearly not animation that would have ever been seen in the American series, rather it has a uniqueness of it’s own.
Man, you gotta love the proper English accents on those little kids. They remind me of Pip from South Park making war. The announcer sounds even cooler. Don’t get me wrong, I love the American guy that does it, but this guy sells G.I. Joe figures like Jason Statham transports people.
Another thing that separates the Action Force ads from the G.I. Joe ones are the addition of the comic book style graphics on the screen. They add a stylish touch that the American ads are severely lacking. The toys are brought to life with the addition “Sha-BOOM” popping up on the screen.
For a contrast, here’s the American Tomax and Xamot Joe commercial:
Nice, but not as nice as the Action Force version.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Hm. After watching that, I want to buy a small British child.
Was that the point?
August 13th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Surreal!
And WOW, I’d forgotten how ridiculous and obnoxious those commercial songs used to be.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:29 am
The US version is better for one reason and one reason alone– the theme song! \m/