It’s a Galoob commercial, inside a “Just Say No” commercial, inside an A-Team commercial, inside the White House.
I think NBC and Mr. T were looking to soften the portrayal of the A-Team as the “most violent” show on television. This is from a People magazine article written around the time this photo was taken:
“This is vigilante TV, and it is drawing fire. No wonder. There are seven million preteen children (ages 2 to 11) among the Team's 42 million viewers every week. They are watching the "most violent" prime-time series on TV, according to a report issued by the National Coalition on Television Violence (NCTV), which found 34 offensive acts per hour on The A-Team (versus an average of seven on other prime-time series).”
http://www.people.com/people...
And I imagine this only helped Galoob:
“in 1983, thanks almost exclusively to Mr. T dolls, Galoob posted sales of $28 million. The Galoob brothers decided that Mr. T sales provided the capital they needed to become a major factor in the toy industry, and in 1984 they took the family business public with an IPO of 1.25 million shares.”
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-...
This is the original caption:
“Mrs. Reagan sitting on Santa Claus (Mr. T) lap after reviewing White House Christmas Decorations with the press. 12/12/83.”
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives...
It’s a Galoob commercial, inside a “Just Say No” commercial, inside an A-Team commercial, inside the White House.
I think NBC and Mr. T were looking to soften the portrayal of the A-Team as the “most violent” show on television. This is from a People magazine article written around the time this photo was taken:
“This is vigilante TV, and it is drawing fire. No wonder. There are seven million preteen children (ages 2 to 11) among the Team's 42 million viewers every week. They are watching the "most violent" prime-time series on TV, according to a report issued by the National Coalition on Television Violence (NCTV), which found 34 offensive acts per hour on The A-Team (versus an average of seven on other prime-time series).”
http://www.people.com/people...
And I imagine this only helped Galoob:
“in 1983, thanks almost exclusively to Mr. T dolls, Galoob posted sales of $28 million. The Galoob brothers decided that Mr. T sales provided the capital they needed to become a major factor in the toy industry, and in 1984 they took the family business public with an IPO of 1.25 million shares.”
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-...
This is the original caption:
“Mrs. Reagan sitting on Santa Claus (Mr. T) lap after reviewing White House Christmas Decorations with the press. 12/12/83.”
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives...
More on Nancy’s “Just Say No” campaign here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...
And here is Nancy with Clint Eastwood:
http://www.youtube.com/watch...