October Fun with Reddy

As part of my obsessive effort to post every single Ohio Edison advertisement starring our favorite electrical sprite, Reddy Kilowatt, here's an ample sample of some of his October ads from through the years.

Above you see a handsome Lorain Journal ad from October 2, 1950 featuring a great illustration of Reddy coming out of an outlet. Could this ad have been the inspiration for my Great-grandfather Esterle telling my mother (in a thick German accent) something about seeing a little man come out of the electrical outlet? Mom thought he was talking about a leprechaun but we know better.

A few years later, multiple Reddys appeared in a full-page ad for a special promotional event: a four-day cooking school at the Palace Theater sponsored by the Journal and Westinghouse. It may have been a not-very-subtle effort to sell Westinghouse appliances, but it was popular and well-attended, with daily reports in the Journal. This ad ran on October 19, 1953.

As the 1950s were drawing to close, Reddy was still hard at work pushing electric dryers. By this time, he was no longer in bed (with an electric blanket no doubt) with Westinghouse, as other brands were included. This ad ran in the Journal on October 27, 1959. 

Going into the early 1960s, Reddy was still pushing electric clothes dryers. In a campaign that ran in October 1962, the focus seemed to be on showing how electric dryers could guarantee marital bliss. Oh, if it was only that easy. This ad ran in the Journal on October 2, 1962.

A week later, this follow-up ad appeared on October 9, 1962. 

That's a lot of sheets. Is the 'family' referred to in the ad actually an Army platoon?

Finally, here's an ad from the Journal's October 11, 1965 edition. 

As you can see, it's the beginning of the end for our pal Reddy. Although he was still hawking electric dryers (as he had been for the last 15 years), he was possibly seen as no longer 'current' – and was being reduced to a mere cameo in some ads.

That's okay, Reddy. You did your job well. I've had both gas and electric dryers over the years, and you were right – the electric one is far superior.