 | Reddy KilowattOriginal Medium: Corporate spokestoon Speaking for: Alabama Power Company First Appeared: 1926 Creat of Record: Ashton B. Collins Sr. image: © Reddy Kilowatt Corporation. |
Reddy Kilowatt wasn't the first corporate spokestoon, and he wasn't the last, and he isn't the most famous — but he isn't the most obscure, either, and he sure has been around a long time.
Information supplied by Reddy's owners indicates the character
was created by Ashton B. Collins Sr., general commercial manager of
Alabama Power Company. At the time (middle 1920s), electricity
wasn't exactly brand-new technology, but a lot of people could
still remember when most homes weren't wired, and not everyone was
entirely comfortable with the stuff. Collins, just home from an
industry convention where a big problem under discussion was how to
sell electricity as a servant of mankind, was gazing out the window
into a thunderstorm, wondering what an electric servant might look
like. All of a sudden, two lightning bolts merged and struck the
ground as one. For a split-second, they reminded Collins of a human
figure, and at that moment Reddy Kilowatt sprang from his brow
full-grown, like Athena from that of Zeus.
Or is that how Gardner Fox got the idea for Hawkman? Or how Bruce Wayne got the idea of dressing up as Batman? The window … the dramatic moment witnessed … the flash of inspiration … It makes a good story, doesn't it?
Since we'll never know what went on in APC's advertising department, that PR handout, circulated years later, is the only origin story Reddy Kilowatt will ever have. Whoever created him, if indeed he was created by a single person, Reddy certainly does look like the personification of electricity. He's a stick figure made of lightning bolts, with a light bulb for a nose and wall outlets for ears. His hands and feet are insulated, and instead of hair, he has a smaller pair of twin lightning bolts.
Reddy debuted on March 11, 1926. He wasn't just APC's spokestoon, but was offered to other local power companies as well. Philadelphia Electric Company was the first of over 200 to license the character. Since then, Reddy's image has appeared on billboards, company stationery, newspaper and magazine ads, give-away merchandise, and everywhere else a toon can appear — including, of course, comics and animation.
Generations of children read Reddy Kilowatt give-away comic books or saw him in animated form at school, in educational films where he was the star. A well-remembered series of them began production in 1947 at Walter Lantz's studio, where Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda and other familiar characters were born.
In 1998, Reddy became the property of Northern States Power Company, which now has a subsidiary, Reddy Kilowatt Corporation, to manage their toon's affairs. They also created a "brother" for Reddy — Reddy Flame, who embodies the cuter and more consumer-friendly aspects of natural gas. Together, the Reddys work tirelessly to sell electricity, gas, and a stunning variety of licensed paraphernalia, all over the world.
