This section is for the random bits of paper that make a pony
geek happy.
Generation One My Little Pony came with a lot of extraneous bits
and pieces of paperwork. From instructions that went with pony
playsets, inserts that advertised the year's available pony lines,
and leaflets that presented particular special promotions, there
are quite a few bits and pieces to hunt down and collect. All of
these things are the tiny clues that make up the overall
information about My Little Pony's history in the UK (and
overseas). Although this section cannot possibly be exhaustive,
because of the sheer number of items that exist, it will at least
give a flavour of the kind of promotional material Hasbro put out.
One very important point of note here - UK and European
inserts are not always dated to the correct year of release.
The inserts listed on this page are listed according to the year
that assortment was available in stores, not the date that is
printed on the leaflet. Many UK release leaflets are dated one
year ahead of the actual release, and most online resources
include them in the year they are stamped. Originally, I
thought that these dates were accurate to the UK release, but
after comparing these leaflets with the Hasbro list, Hasbro's
trade catalogues and other promotional material like the comic, it
becomes clear that there's a mismatch.
This mismatch begins with the leaflets with Strawberry
Fair on the front, which are dated 1987 but actually
represents releases from 1988. Every subsequent insert
leaflet is dated a year before the ponies actually arrived in
stores. There is also no insert for 1990.
Why did this happen?
One reason could be that the copyright for the ponies shown in the
leaflets came from the year before. Many of the ponies on sale in
the UK in one year would have been items copyrighted and on sale
in North America in the year prior, making that their actual date
of copyright. Another possible explanation is that the dates
represent when Hasbro put these ponies into production or began
planning for how they would be marketed - although this
contradicts the timeline sent to me by Hasbro in 1995.
Whatever the reason, there is no evidence that the ponies came
out at the times these inserts advertised. Whatever the real
reason for the discrepancy, most of the inserts are dated out of
sync with actual UK production/store availability.