These vintage Star Wars toy ads are toe-curlingly brilliant

"Each figure sold separately!"

Try saying that with even a hint of gusto. 

Impossible, right? Yet somehow, the actors from these retro TV commercials for Kenner's original Star Wars action figures manage to deliver this 'small print' line with pulse-raising enthusiasm. 

Assembled by the official Star Wars site, the following YouTube clips offer insight into a world of marketing gone by - when mail-order with six-week waits was the Amazon Prime of the day, plastic figurines were as coveted as PlayStations and George Lucas hadn't ruined Star Wars for everyone.