The Ever-Unemployed

Ah, Mumm-Ra and Skeletor – their contentious friendship is one for the ages. I always got the feeling that, while ThunderCats had its time in the limelight, Skeletor and Masters of the Universe was always one step ahead of their 80s cartoon brethren. Though ThunderCats lasted 2 years longer than Masters of the Universe, the Masters' world burned brighter in a shorter amount of time. That old animosity was stirred up again during Honda's recent holiday commercial campaign featuring 70s and 80s toys like Gumby, Jem and the Holograms and Skeletor.

Personally, I was conflicted about those ads. Particularly the one with Skeletor. Skeletor was part of the 80s licensing trifecta that the planet of my childhood revolved around. Star Wars, He-Man and Transformers fueled everything I knew as a kid. They're as dear to me as my own mother. So seeing Honda blatantly using my own nostalgia to shill me a car just seemed so tawdry.

But on the other hand, it was nice seeing a familiar face, a friendly face, get a few more minutes in the spotlight. Chances are the advertising team that came up with those ads are in my same age range and grew up with Skeletor just as I had. Perhaps it wasn't (as my own cynicism states) only preying on nostalgia, but it was a chance to use licenses these people loved as kids in their day to day job. If you've ever read McSoss before, you know I certainly try to use Skeletor as much as possible.

So while I don't expect to see Mumm-Ra, the Ever-Living selling me a Kia any time soon, you can be sure I'll be highlighting his challenge to out-do Skeletor here at McSoss.

-Gint