During​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ the late 2000 when the quality of children's TV shows was at its peak the Top 10 list of commercials that stirred the vivid imagination of kiddie fans of cars would probably still not include the 2008 Hot Wheels Color Blasters commercial That 30-second clip was one of the boldest innovations of the decade that Mattel made in the track-set category and it was what the ad was all about. The ad was like an audiovisual explosion where the product into address was the protagonist and its electronic score, quick-cut style and bright-lit imagery were the perfect examples of the hyper-dynamic kinetic toy-commercials-genre that the audience had witnessed at the time and thus were instantly taken to a different world where the ordinary die-cast cars turned into agents of chromatic ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌chaos.

The​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ main attraction of the commercial was indeed the Hot Wheels Color Blasters set, a huge, multi-level projectile that went 1:64-scale vehicles through a network of color-changing chambers. As cars were shot along the brightly colored orange track, they were immersed in revolving “blaster” units that seemed to be full of swirling, glowing paint. Upon a vehicle’s reaching, the cars converted their colors in a very flashy way; thus one could easily imagine that a yellow Lamborghini would come out of a cylinder fire engine red, and a blue Mustang would be changed instantly to an electric green color.

The highlight of the commercial was definitely the moment when a rainbow-colored explosion of synchronized transformed cars extended from the last gate, accompanied by an extremely enthusiastic announcer shouting out the words Change their color change the game.

What made this commercial particularly memorable; and now treasured by collectors; was its unapologetic embrace of early-2000s excess. In fact, real kids (wearing uniquely oversized safety goggles) could be heard shouting with joy as the cars changed right before their eyes, while on-screen CGI-enhanced paint smears resembled a tiny action-movie scene. The spot also gave the audience a peek at the limited edition “Color Shifters” components that came with the set, whose thermochromic paint actually did change color with temperature; a smart use of truth-in-advertising that makes the let-you-imagine-if-it-weretruly quite trick be alluringly real to eight-year-olds all over the USA.

The 2008 Color Blasters commercial is now considered a cult classic by vintage Hot Wheels fans and is frequently rediscovered through YouTube channels dedicated to retro toy ads. With its impeccable time-capsule mix of live and early CGI augmentedeffects, plus the pure sugar-rush like childish energy, it is probably the last breath of the era when toy commercials were still dangerously thrilling. Those who grew up throwing cars down orange plastic tracks will find that touching their memory so promptly with the sound of the famous “WHOOSH…BANG…COLOR BLAST!” effect they cannot but feel waves of nostalgia and thus are reminded that in some cases it is not the toys themselves that transform but rather the memories made by ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌them.