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Back in 2006, GE Fabbri supported the launch of Doctor Who: Battles in Time with a £1 million television advertising campaign intended to promote the magazine and trading card collection (Retail Newsagent, 2006).
The campaign included three advertisements broadcast on terrestrial and satellite television channels in the United Kingdom, with a separate fourth advertisement produced for the Australian market.
UK Advertisements
The UK advertisements used imagery from the Exterminator Test Set. The trading cards shown in the advertisements can be identified as Test Set versions because the card designs do not display the rarity symbols used on the later national cards.
The advertisements also show cards from the initial 85-card Test Set collection rather than the larger national Exterminator collection. The Test Set version of Issue 1 is also visible, identifiable by the yellow price corner on the top-right of the backing card.
These details provide useful contemporary evidence of the Test Set designs and packaging used during the UK promotional campaign.
Australian Advertisement
The Australian advertisement differs from the UK material and features the revised card and packaging designs associated with the later release.
The backing card shown in the Australian advertisement uses the red price corner rather than the yellow version found on the Test Set packaging. The advertisement also displays the expanded card collection rather than being limited to the initial 85 Test Set cards.
The differences between the advertisements provide evidence that GE Fabbri used different versions of the Battles in Time artwork and promotional material for different stages and markets of the release.
Advertisements
According to an archive on Brandtanim, 303 Productions commissioned Brandt Animation to produce digital animated elements for a range of commercials for GE Fabbri, the UK‘s major part-work publishing house.
The Tardis and collecting cards were digitally modelled, animated and integrated with live action for "Dr Who Battles in Time" magazine.
2026 Retroduction Video
Alongside the announcement of the Retroduction collection, a promotional video was released showing a selection of designs based on cards from the original Battles in Time series.
In the video, the cards were presented with the name “Retroduction” rather than the names associated with their original releases. The footage provided an early indication of the card designs and visual treatment being developed for the new collection before the full release.
The video therefore provides contemporary evidence of the artwork and branding used during the development and promotion of Retroduction.
2026 Obliterator Video
Alongside the announcement of the Obliterator collection, Master Replicas released a promotional video featuring a selection of designs from the new Battles in Time card set.
The video was made available through the Master Replicas website and provided an early preview of the artwork and card designs being developed for the Obliterator expansion.
Obliterator Promotional Material
The modern Battles in Time collection expanded with the announcement of the Obliterator Set on 28 May 2026. The announcement was made during The Whoniverse Show, with Master Replicas and Heathside Trading introducing Obliterator as the first randomized expansion of the 2026 Battles in Time releases.
The announcement took place towards the end of the programme and included an initial presentation of the new cards. Several prototype cards were also shown during the segment. These prototypes featured incomplete artwork, providing an example of the cards during an earlier stage of their development.
One of the prototype cards shown was an Ace card, which was held by actor Sylvester McCoy for an Instagram post.
The announcement can be viewed on YouTube: The Whoniverse Show – Obliterator announcement
The prototype cards shown during the announcement are distinct from the final production cards and should be considered development material rather than part of the released Obliterator checklist.
Dalek Invasion Promotional Material
As part of the promotion for Doctor Who: Battles in Time – Dalek Invasion, content creators Christel Dee, host of The Whoniverse Show, and Krystina Arielle published videos featuring the new collection.
Christel Dee published a social media video showing two prototype Dalek Invasion booster packs. The packs contained randomly selected cards and featured packaging that differed from the final production designs. The video provides an example of the packaging and cards being used during the promotional and development stages of the collection.
The video is available on Instagram: Christel Dee – Dalek Invasion promotional video
Krystina Arielle also published a promotional video featuring the Dalek Invasion cards. The video provides views of several cards from the collection and includes a Dalek Invasion display box in the background. The box shown appears to be an earlier packaging mock-up, with a design closely related to the prototype booster packs shown in Christel Dee's video.
The video is available on Instagram: Krystina Arielle – Dalek Invasion promotional video
These videos provide surviving visual evidence of the development and promotion of the Dalek Invasion collection, including packaging designs that were subsequently revised before the final release.
Websites
GE Fabbri created an official website to accompany Doctor Who: Battles in Time. The website provided promotional material, information about the card collection and additional content relating to the magazine and trading card game.
The Test Set booster packs displayed the website address “www.doctorwhocards.com”, while internal promotional leaflets used “www.battlesintime.com”. The two addresses appear to have directed users to the same Battles in Time website, although surviving contemporary documentation does not establish whether they were separate sites or alternative domains for the same service.
Original 2006 Website Features
The original website included information about the trading cards, including a “Rare Cards” section that displayed examples of cards from the collection. This section included Ultra Rare cards, such as the TARDIS.
During the early stages of the magazine's publication, the website also provided an online subscription facility. A prominent button on the homepage directed visitors to a subscription page where their details could be entered. Physical subscription leaflets were also distributed with the early magazine issues.
The website was updated as Battles in Time developed, although some of its original material was retained. For example, the images used in the “Game Rules” section continued to show Test Set versions of the cards. Some surviving website imagery also contains an earlier card-back design that was not used on the final national cards.
Dedicated Set Websites
The Invader and Ultimate Monsters collections were supported by dedicated websites separate from the main Battles in Time website:
www.battlesintimeinvader.com
www.battlesintimemonsters.com
Both sites used Adobe Flash for some of their interactive content. As Flash is no longer supported by modern web browsers, much of the original functionality is now inaccessible.
High-quality screenshots of the Ultimate Monsters website have been preserved in this archive. Material from the Invader website has also been identified, although the original Flash files are no longer functioning correctly, limiting the ability to reproduce the site in its original interactive form.
2026 Revival Website
Following the announcement of the Battles in Time revival in 2026, a new website was established at www.newbattlesintime.com.
At the time of writing, the site contains limited information about the revived collection.
The images below document surviving examples of the original Battles in Time website, including material from the Invader and Ultimate Monsters websites, alongside the modern 2026 website.
Invader Website
Following the release of the Invader set, GE Fabbri launched a dedicated website at www.battlesintimeinvader.com.
The website contained promotional and interactive material relating to the Invader collection, much of which was created using Adobe Flash. As Flash is no longer supported by modern web browsers, a significant portion of the original interactive content is now inaccessible.
The image shown below preserves the appearance of the website's homepage and provides a record of how the site was presented when visitors first accessed it.
Ultimate Monsters Website
The Ultimate Monsters collection was also supported by a dedicated website. Much of the original website content is no longer accessible, largely due to its use of Adobe Flash.
The preserved image below shows the appearance of the website, while the linked video provides additional evidence of how the homepage appeared when the site was accessed.
The “Buy the Special” section included a short digital preview of the Ultimate Monsters Special. This feature allowed visitors to view several pages from the magazine before purchasing it and provides a surviving record of part of the website's original content.
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