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.

[1] 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.

[5] 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.

[6] 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.

[8] 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 (IOUs).

In signing the contract, the licensing IOU promised to always represent Reddy Kilowatt as “genial, likeable, well-mannered [and] even-tempered” and to abide by “generally accepted standards of good taste.”[11] In exchange, the licensee was guaranteed a range of products and services by RKS.

[3] 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.

[13] 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.

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.

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.

Called simply “Reddy Kilowatt”, the song was written by jazz artist Del Porter and Oscar-nominated composer Darrell Calker.

Its catchy lyric concluded: I wash and dry your clothes, play your radios, I can heat your coffee pot, I am always there, with lots of power to spare, ’cause I’m REDDY KILOWATT!

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.

Beginning in the late 1940s, utilities began to sponsor “Reddy Kilowatt Youth Clubs”, incorporating educational activities with capitalist messages.

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!”[19] RKI took steps to vigorously protect its intellectual property.

The growing influence of the environmental movement in the late '60s, coupled with the fuel shortages of the early '70s, had directed the utilities’ focus away from expansion and toward conservation.

"[24] Reddy Kilowatt clip art began to depict the character in various “green” poses: planting seedlings and installing energy-efficient lighting, for example.

[19] In 1976, in an effort to broaden its range of marketable services, RKI would rebrand itself as Reddy Communications, Inc. [RCI], moving its headquarters to Greenwich, Connecticut.

[3] "Reddy," insisted Louise Bender in 1978, "is the friend of the consumer," adding that urging users to keep their power consumption down was just fulfilling his mission;[23] however, the character's updated image was not an easy fit.

Immediately after the sale concluded in January 1972, company officials fanned out across the system to excise the character's image from signs, vehicles and structures.

Deborah Dunagan, Chief Operating Officer of RCI, now based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, insisted that Reddy was still a “natural communicator for the information age.”[29] In late 1998, Northern States Power Company (NSP), based in Minneapolis, agreed to purchase RCI and its trademarks from parent Collins Capital Corporation, now headed by Ashton Collins' son, Ash Collins Jr. NSP's CEO Jim Howard promised that Reddy would continue to be a strong ambassador for the company's electric operations together with a new companion, Reddy Flame, representing its natural gas division.

[36] In 2015, the southern Alberta community of Bighorn restored a Reddy Kilowatt image in inlaid linoleum which had been part of a floor at a former Calgary Power staff house for more than 50 years.

[37] The trade in Reddy Kilowatt collectibles and memorabilia, from signs to trinkets, remains popular in antique marketplaces and online auction sites.

"[38] William Gibson compares the logo of Singapore's People's Action Party to Reddy Kilowatt in his 1994 WIRED article on the city-state "Disneyland with the Death Penalty".

[citation needed] Reddy Kilowatt was featured in a cameo in the 1994 video game-inspired film Double Dragon, starring Alyssa Milano.

In it, a Reddy Kilowatt doll was used in a fake commercial for a utility company, pitched by Dan and DJ in the manner of the early days of television in the 1950s, when shows featured the performers promoting their sponsor's products.

[41] A Wisconsin Light & Power sign featuring Reddy Kilowatt, once displayed on a fence surrounding a public utility like a transformer or a hydroelectric dam, was seen on an episode of American Pickers.

[citation needed] The Ecuadorian soccer team Club Sport Emelec uses Reddy Kilowatt, known in Spanish as Alerto Kilovatio, as its mascot.

[citation needed] In 2018, Victoria, British Columbia, craft brewer Phillips Brewing featured a rendition of Reddy Kilowatt on its "Megahertz Belgium ESB" bottle label.