Reddy Kilowatt
Reddy Kilowatt is a cartoon character that served as a corporate spokesman for electricity generation in the United States and other countries for nearly one hundred years. Currently, the Reddy Kilowatt trademark is owned by Xcel Energy.
Description
Reddy Kilowatt is drawn as a stick figure whose body, limbs, and hair are made of stylized lightning bolts and whose bulbous head has a light bulb for a nose and wall outlets for ears.Conception
Reddy Kilowatt made his first published appearance on March 14, 1926, in an advertisement in The Birmingham News for the Alabama Power Company. The character was the brainchild of the company's 40-year-old commercial manager, Ashton B. Collins Sr.Like other electric utilities of the period, APC was seeking to grow consumer demand for electrical power. Commercially viable AC generating stations had begun powering North American streets and homes by the end of the 19th century. By the mid-1920s, electric utilities had succeeded in bringing electricity to virtually all major cities and towns in North America; however, rural areas remained chronically underserved. In 1930, almost 90 percent of farms in the United States were still without access to electric service. Collins was convinced that the best way to win over new customers, including frugal small business owners and skeptical farmers and rural dwellers, was to give his mostly invisible new commodity a more human face.
According to corporate lore, Collins found his inspiration in a dramatic Alabama lightning storm. As he watched the electric discharges strike the ground, he imagined the dancing limbs of a powerful creature, one that could be harnessed in the service of the public. He turned to a colleague, APC engineer Dan Clinton, to create the first drawings of Reddy Kilowatt, an “electrical servant” with lightning bolt arms and legs, wearing safety gloves and shoes. He added a friendly face with a light bulb nose and wall outlets for ears. Reddy's original design had five arms, representing electricity's ability to be everywhere at once.
APC copyrighted the character on March 6, 1926. Over the next few years, Reddy appeared in print advertising for the company. He made his first three-dimensional appearance at the Alabama Electrical Exposition of 1926.
Adolescence
The onset of the Great Depression in 1929 would further suppress demand for new electric services and slow progress toward rural electrification. Collins remained convinced that the Reddy Kilowatt character could be a powerful promoter of electric power. A lifelong advocate for capitalism, Collins was alarmed by growing government intervention in the sector and also saw Reddy as an ambassador for investor-owned utility companies.In 1933, IOUs banded together to advance their interests, forming the Edison Electric Institute. Collins joined the new organization, travelling the United States to promote the use of electrical energy. APC gave Collins the rights to the character he created. He engaged a young family friend, Dorothea Warren, to refine Reddy Kilowatt's image. On March 28, 1933, Collins was granted trademark number 302,093 by the U.S. Patent Office. Warren would go on to become a prolific commercial artist and author of children's books.
Under the umbrella of the Reddy Kilowatt Service, Collins used his interactions with other IOUs to promote what he called the “Reddy Kilowatt Program”. He entered into his first licensing agreement with the Philadelphia Electric Company in January 1934. Over the next couple of years, Collins would add several other major utilities including Ohio Edison Company, PPL Corporation, Duke Power, South Carolina Power Company and Tennessee Electric Power Company.
RKS entered into a contract with each licensee. The original 1934 version was amended in 1941, 1953, 1963, 1968, 1971 and 1976. In signing the contract, the licensing IOU promised to always represent Reddy Kilowatt as “genial, likeable, well-mannered even-tempered” and to abide by “generally accepted standards of good taste.”
In exchange, the licensee was guaranteed a range of products and services by RKS. The most important of these came to be known as the Reddy Kilowatt Art Service Reproduction Proofs Book, a catalogue of Reddy Kilowatt images, applications and stock advertisements that could be used or customized by the utility to promote its electrical services. Using the Proofs Book as a guide, companies could order mat service sheets and layout art to meet their needs. By the time of its final edition in 1998, the book had grown to hundreds of pages, containing thousands of images. RKS also produced a periodical called the Reddy Bulletin, containing news and promotional ideas for licensees.
Collins recognized early that Reddy Kilowatt's appeal was without borders. He first sought and obtained trademark protection for the character in Canada in 1934 and subsequently in Argentina, Great Britain, and Mexico. Over the years, Reddy would be licensed extensively in the Caribbean, South America, Australia, Africa, and Asia.
Maturity
With the impending end of hostilities in the final months of World War II, utility companies began to prepare for a return to a consumer-driven economy, and to respond to 15 years of pent-up demand for new household appliances. Demand for electric power jumped 14 per cent between 1946 and 1947 alone. An important driver was that, even as demand for electrical energy increased, the cost of energy continued to decline. When Reddy was created in the mid-1920s, a kilowatt-hour cost 55 cents. By 1947, it had fallen to 19 cents, and it would continue to fall over the ensuing two decades.Ashton Collins saw that Reddy Kilowatt could play an important role in promoting electrical use in a period of post-war prosperity, but recognized a need to refine the character's image. As early as 1943, Collins approached the prominent American animator Walt Disney in a bid to adapt Reddy for film. The studio was heavily involved in producing films for the U.S. military at the time and the project did not proceed.
Image:Reddy Kilowatt Reddy Made Magic 1946.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Reddy Kilowatt, 1946, as adapted by the Walter Lantz studio
Two years later, Collins approached another noted animator, Walter Lantz, with the idea of starring Reddy on the big screen. Lantz, whose characters like Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda were well known to theatre-goers of the period, agreed, releasing the short film Reddy Made Magic in March 1946. Lantz and Collins shared producing credits on the film, which was directed by Dick Lundy, a former Disney animator. The screenplay, by Ben Hardaway and Milt Schaffer, featured the story of the creation of electricity as told by Reddy Kilowatt. In conjunction with the film version of Reddy Made Magic, Educational Comics produced a companion comic book with a cover price of five cents and the subtitle The amazing true story of electricity. Reddy's movie voice was provided by Walter Tetley, the prolific voiceover actor whose talents were in demand by producers needing a high-pitched, adolescent sound. Tetley's credits included the voice of Sherman, sidekick of Jay Ward’s canine genius Mr. Peabody.
Lantz’s contribution to the Reddy Kilowatt story is considerable. Prior to 1946, Reddy Kilowatt was usually portrayed as a lanky and sometimes awkward-looking creature. Lantz’s animators refined Reddy’s look to make his body shorter and more proportional. Reddy’s wide-cuffed safety gloves were replaced with four-fingered white gloves of the type traditionally worn by Mickey Mouse and other popular cartoon creatures. Most important, the Lantz artists broadened Reddy’s grin and added whites to his eyes, instantly increasing his range of expression.
The Lantz film included a song, sung by Walter Tetley as Reddy. It was later used in advertising and commercial applications by licensees. Called simply “Reddy Kilowatt”, the song was written by jazz artist Del Porter and Oscar-nominated composer Darrell Calker. Its catchy lyric concluded:
In 1953, Collins incorporated RKS as Reddy Kilowatt, Inc., establishing its head office in New York City. The company continued to provide a range of products and services to licensees. In addition to the Proofs Book, RKI produced a handbook with guidelines to assist utilities in using Reddy to their advantage. Around 1942, the Reddy News, a glossy periodical that highlighted successes and best practices of RKI licensees, replaced the Reddy Bulletin.
RKI continued to aggressively promote its Reddy Kilowatt trademarks worldwide. By 1957, 222 utility companies around the world had licensed use of the character. By the end of the '60s, it's estimated that the number of RKI licensees totalled about 300 worldwide.
Throughout this period, RKI was a prolific producer of promotional materials and incentives, broadly distributed by licensees. Trinkets ranging from men's and women's jewellery, writing instruments and lighters, to oven mitts, aprons and playing cards, featured Reddy Kilowatt's consistently smiling face. Collins’ prime objective remained unchanged: to provide a human, accessible face to the business of energy generation. The theme is evident in RKI art from the time: a winded Reddy running uphill to demonstrate the stress of rising costs; Reddy in hunting togs warning shooters away from power lines; a smiling Reddy framing a power bill as his “wages”.
Image:Reddy Kilowatt - small wages.jpg|thumb|left|317px|Reddy Kilowatt explains an electricity bill, c. 1959
RKI continued to advance Collins' pro-capitalist ideology. The company encouraged licensees to spread this message to young people. Beginning in the late 1940s, utilities began to sponsor “Reddy Kilowatt Youth Clubs”, incorporating educational activities with capitalist messages. At the same time, RKI distributed stock advertisements with right-wing political messages for use by licensees. Among the promotions for electric heat and appliances were images of a visibly sweating Reddy warning that government ownership of utilities is “Socialism – the twin brother of Communism – and we don’t want either of those isms!”
RKI took steps to vigorously protect its intellectual property. In 1956, RKI sued the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, an association of cooperative-owned utilities, for trademark infringement. Four years earlier, the organization had introduced Willie Wiredhand, a character with a body of electric cable and electric plug feet. On January 7, 1957, the court ruled the characters were different and dismissed the complaint.
In 1958, John Sutherland Productions updated Reddy Made Magic for the atomic age, producing the short film The Mighty Atom. The film incorporated some footage from Reddy Made Magic. As before, the film's release was followed by a companion comic book. The film updated the Reddy Kilowatt theme song to declare, "I'm in your T-V set with every show you get!"
A singing and dancing Reddy Kilowatt was featured in an animated show called “Holiday with Light” in the Tower of Light exhibit at the 1965 New York World's Fair.
In 1962, Collins turned the presidency of RKI over to son Ashton B. Collins Jr., although the senior Collins remained chairman of RKI until his death in 1972. Much of the day-to-day work of RKI was led by the company's corporate secretary, Louise M. Bender. Ray Crosby served as the company's art director from 1934 to 1964. RKI employed about 30 people at its peak.