The cover art for Doctor Who And The Mines Of Terror. It's a TARDIS.

CW: Gratuitous and explicit picture of a brain.

Whilst there’s far, far more famous examples of misfiring videogame adverts out there I can’t help but keep a special place in my heart for the Dr Who And The Mines Of Terror advert.

Not only is it the thing least like something from Dr Who, beating the Dapol Davros to the star prize, it’s absolutely nothing to do with the game either. And it’s a squidgy brain with a blood splat.

Even by the standards of videogames in the eighties – notorious for often painting a far more vivid picture than the videogame could manage* – it’s, erm, somewhat off on a tangent. A whole big ‘why’ of an advert.

On the other hand, it does rather stick in the memory so I guess that’s job done?

It's the advert for the videogame Dr Who And The Mines Of Terror. It's a close up photo of a squidgy brain, complete with bloodsplat, and the words "are you ready for brain to brain combat?"

*Although I disagree with this! I have an imagination and back then (and now) my brain was/is able to quite vividly fill in the blanks, more so than any box art can manage. I appreciate this isn’t possible for everyone though.


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