TINKLE ADS FROM THE 1980S!!

(PICTURE: TINKLE COVER KIDS ish179, pg 0)

Chamataka. Doob Doob. Suppandi. Shikari Shambhu. Naseerudin Hodja. Tantri the Mantri. If those names mean nothing to you, then you were obviously never a kid in India in the '80s. These guys were the stars of a monthly (later fortnightly) comic called <i>Tinkle</i>, and as far as we were concerned, this was the coolest shit ever. A single issue of <i>Tinkle</i> would have, on the average, comicbook versions of folk-tales from Argentina to Zimbabwe, nature documentaries, scientific experiments, do-it-yourself craft projects... and still have time to devote to regular features like the adventures of a talking crow and flat-headed domestic servants.

(PICTURE: RABBITS FIGHTING ish 56, pg 29)

The editor, the charismatic and elusive personality known to us only as "Uncle Pai", aquired the status of a near-diety among us kids. Even when you grew a little older and it wasn't "cool" to read <i>Tinkle</i> anymore, you still had a stash hidden under your bed that you read when no-one was looking.

This page is a tribute to all the advertisments that graced the pages of <i>Tinkle</i> in the '80s. Simple advertisements from a less jaded time. A happier, more innocent decade. A happier, more innocent, and incredibly weird fucking decade. Sit tight, hold that mouse comfortably, and prepare to relive your childhood right here.

(snall text) Click on thumbnails to view full-size images
(THUMBNAILS)

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PARRY'S ECLAIRS (ISH 14, BACK COVER. CAPTION: That is one stoned kid. Check out the amazing psychedelic vision you can experience by just dropping a couple of Parry's Eclairs. God damn I love the '80s.)

JUNGLE BOOK CROWN COLLECTION (ISH 24, INSIDE BACK COVER. CAPTION: Quite a few people will remember collecting these Jungle Book characters from under the crowns. I miss Gold Spot.)

POPPINS TANTRA (ISH 24, BACK COVER. CAPTION: These kids Ram and Shyam were always telling you to beware of imitators and that only the real Poppins had the silver stripes.)

BROOKE BOND TEA (ISH 56, INSIDE FRONT COVER. CAPTION: The advertisers seem to have got their demographics mixed up. Why would you place an ad for Brooke Bond in a childrens comic? Check out that guy reading the paper. That was definitely <i>not</i> our idea of a good morning. Did they really expect kids to see this ad, and then throw tantrums until their parents bought some Brooke Bond? Not even Uncle Pai could make us do that.)

LEO TOYS AD (ISH 56, INSIDE BACK COVER. CAPTION: Don't tell me you didn't hate this kid.)

SUPREMO (ISH 56, INSIDE BACK COVER. CAPTION: Okay, this will take some serious explaining... and I'm not even sure that will make it understandable. A lot of weird stuff went on in the '80s, but one of the strangest decisions was taken by Star Comics when they decided to give movie star Amitabh Bachchan... his own comic book! The adventures starred Amitabh as himself, but when he wasn't shooting some blockbuster Hindi movie, he was a costumed Phantom-type superhero with his own island and pet falcon. And look who they got to write this issue... Gulzar! I could tell you more but your head might explode.)

FEVICOL MUFFY (ISH 56, BACK COVER. CAPTION: Muffy the Monkey. Heh.)

MAGGI DOODLE PENS (ISH 82, BACK COVER)

LETRO SUPERSTAR EMBOSSING GUN (ISH 95, INSIDE FRONT COVER. CAPTION: Check it out! When's the last time you saw two space travellers do regular stuff like labelling jars for Mummy and getting ready for school? I wanted this thing so much.)

SWEET SIX FROM AMUL (ISH 106, BACK COVER)

SCHNAPPERS (ISH 161, PG 15)

MAGGI CLUB (ISH 178, PH 5. CAPTION: Maggi was always doing stuff like this. Basically, you eat a shitload of Maggi, send the empty wrappers somewhere, and in just 6 to 8 weeks, you get all this cool stuff in return.)

OMEGA SONY GEOMETRY BOX (ISH 178, PG 15)

SPIDER-MAN RASNA (ISH 178, BACK COVER. CAPTION: Holy shit. It's Spider-Man! I don't have to tell you that these special Rasna packs blew us away. See, in the West it's fairly common for merchandising / promotional tie-ups like this, but in India in the '80s this was practically unheard of. Whoa... it's Spider-Man... and he's on my Rasna! We'd never seen anything like this, but we knew this had to be some pretty damn good soft drink concentrate if Spidey wanted to be associated with it. Check out those free gifts... you get combs and stickers and... hair clips? Butterfly hair clips? What does that even have to do with Spider-Man? See... butterflies are insects, and spiders are arachnids; which are kind of like insects. A spider <i>might</i> trap a butterfly in it's web, so this hair clip makes perfect sense.)