12 August 2013

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - New Teen Titans Say "No" to Drugs



The year: 1983. The message: Say 'No' to Drugs. The heroes: The New Teen Titans. While I am not sure if this 60 second anti-drug message actually aired or not, if it had it would have contained the first onscreen appearances by several Titans including Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, and... The Protector?


Since Robin was already licensed by Nabisco, he was not included with the rest of his teen teammates in the ad sponsored by rival biscuit maker Keebler. In fact, one reason that DC offered up the Titans was that the prominent adult heroes were already in active projects. It was an added bonus that he Teen Titans would probably be more relatable to the target audience. 


The Protector never really caught on after his 60 seconds of fame and was basically only created as a last minute stand-in for an edited out Boy Wonder in an anti-drug Teen Titans comic. Supposedly, Robin's costume was whited out and recolored and The Protector was born.



This original animation cell makes me wish I could get my hands on a full, unedited and restored copy of the ad complete with epic 80's hair Starfire. The best I could do is glean some footage from a promotion for the ad and splice it together into a 30 second silent video. Enjoy:



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