The Squander Bug was a World War II propaganda character created by the British National Savings Committee to discourage wasteful spending and consumption. Originally designed by freelance illustrator Phillip Boydell for press adverts, the character was widely used by other wartime artists in poster campaigns and political cartoons. It is one of the few propaganda campaigns from World War II to be fully documented from the original concept sketches to the finished adverts. [1]
During the Second World War, the British National Savings Committee became concerned that inflated prices were being paid for scarce consumer goods and believed that the money would be better spent on savings certificates to finance the war. [2] The Committee felt that a way to ridicule indulgent spending was needed, without being boring or high-handed.
To meet this need, Boydell produced a series of six sketches depicting an imp-like creature named the 'Money Grub' that could 'push, pull, scratch, bite and steal'. [2] The concept was accepted almost as it stood, aside from the name being changed.
The character was intended as a positive alternative to endless government warnings on what not to do, for example 'Don't waste fuel' or 'Don't waste paper'. Instead, the Squander Bug's speech balloons encouraged shoppers to waste their money on useless purchases, accompanied by captions urging consumers to fight or starve the creature. The character eventually gained swastika tattoos and was even placed in Madame Tussauds wax museum alongside other war enemies, such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. [3]
Boydell was mainly involved in developing the Squander Bug for press adverts, but the character was also adapted for use in poster campaigns with the same message. British wartime cartoonists such as David Low and Carl Giles also used the character, sometimes ironically. For example, Victor Weisz lampooned Hitler's manpower shortages by giving him his own pair of squander bugs. [1]
The character developed an international reputation, and an adapted version was used in Australia, where the Squander Bug was given a Japanese appearance. [4] A Squander Bug character was also created by Dr. Seuss to encourage Americans to buy war bonds, although the design was quite different from Boydell's version. [5]
The Squander Bug is referenced in the 60s/70s sitcom about the Home Guard, Dad's Army , in the episode "Knights of Madness" (Series 9: Episode 3), with Private Pike (Ian Lavender) dressing up as the bug.
War bonds are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are also a means to control inflation by removing money from circulation in a stimulated wartime economy. War bonds are either retail bonds marketed directly to the public or wholesale bonds traded on a stock market. Exhortations to buy war bonds have often been accompanied by appeals to patriotism and conscience. Retail war bonds, like other retail bonds, tend to have a yield which is below that offered by the market and are often made available in a wide range of denominations to make them affordable for all citizens.
Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi is an animated propaganda short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released on January 15, 1943, by RKO Radio Pictures, directed by Clyde Geronimi and principally animated by Milt Kahl, Ward Kimball, Frank Thomas, and Bill Tytla. The short is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by American author Gregor Ziemer. The film features the story of Hans, a boy born and raised in Nazi Germany, his indoctrination in the Hitlerjugend, and his eventual march to war.
"Any Bonds Today?" is a song written by Irving Berlin, featured in a 1942 animated propaganda film starring Bugs Bunny. Both were used to sell war bonds during World War II.
Blitz Wolf is a 1942 American animated propaganda short film produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A parody of the Three Little Pigs told via a World War II perspective, the short was directed by Tex Avery and produced by Fred Quimby. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons but lost to Der Fuehrer's Face, another anti-Nazi World War II parody featuring Donald Duck.
During American involvement in World War II (1941–45), propaganda was used to increase support for the war and commitment to an Allied victory. Using a vast array of media, propagandists instigated hatred for the enemy and support for America's allies, urged greater public effort for war production and victory gardens, persuaded people to save some of their material so that more material could be used for the war effort, and sold war bonds.
Britain re-created the World War I Ministry of Information for the duration of World War II to generate propaganda to influence the population towards support for the war effort. A wide range of media was employed aimed at local and overseas audiences. Traditional forms such as newspapers and posters were joined by new media including cinema (film), newsreels and radio. A wide range of themes were addressed, fostering hostility to the enemy, support for allies, and specific pro war projects such as conserving metal and growing vegetables.
Plane Daffy is a 1944 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin. The cartoon was released on September 16, 1944, and stars Daffy Duck.
Philip Zec was a British political cartoonist and editor. Moving from the advertising industry to drawing political cartoons due to his abhorrence of the rise of fascism, Zec complemented the Daily Mirror editorial line with a series of venomous cartoons. He was on the Nazis list of persons to be arrested immediately if they had invaded Britain during the Second World War. His cartoon on VE-day was said to have been a key factor in the Labour Party's 1945 general election campaign.
Frank Parkinson Newbould was an English poster artist, known for his travel posters and Second World War posters for the War Office as assistant to Abram Games.
The Wartime Information Board was a Canadian government agency established on 9 September 1942, succeeding the Bureau of Public Information, to coordinate the existing public information service of the government, supervise the release from government sources of Canadian war news and information, and facilitate distribution of Canadian war information both internally and externally.
The Fifth-Column Mouse is a 1943 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on March 6, 1943.
Political cartoons produced during World War II by both Allied and Axis powers commented upon the events, personalities and politics of the war. Governments used them for propaganda and public information. Individuals expressed their own political views and preferences.
Phillip Boydell was a British designer and illustrator.
World War II changed the possibilities for animation. Prior to the war, animation was mostly seen as a form of family entertainment. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a turning point in its utility. On December 8, 1941, the United States Army began working with Walt Disney at his studio, stationing Military personnel there for the duration of the war. The Army and Disney set about making various types of films for several different audiences. Most films meant for the public included some type of propaganda, while films for the troops included training and education about a given topic.
Reginald Mount (1906–1979) was a British graphic designer.
World War I was the first war in which mass media and propaganda played a significant role in keeping the people at home informed on what occurred at the battlefields. It was also the first war in which governments systematically produced propaganda as a way to target the public and alter their opinion.
All Together is a 1942 three-minute educational short animated film made by the Walt Disney Studios, for the National Film Board of Canada. The film was released theatrically on January 13, 1942 as part of a series of four films directed at the Canadian public to buy war bonds during the Second World War.
Donald's Decision is a 1942 four-minute educational short animated film made by the Walt Disney Studios, for the National Film Board of Canada. The film was released theatrically on January 11, 1942 as part of a series of four films directed at the Canadian public to buy war bonds during the Second World War.
The American Schools at War program was a program during World War II run by the U.S. Treasury Department, in which schoolchildren set goals to sell stamps and bonds to help the war effort. The program was also administered by the U.S. Office of Education, the Federal government agency that interfaced with the nation's school systems and its thirty-two million students. The Office, however, allowed the Treasury to work with the schools directly as the main objective of the program was raising money.
