Thursday 23 April 2015

"Don't Struggle" Campaign (1972)



In 1972 extensive government studies suggested that the people of Britain were in an odd mood. GPs were reporting higher incidences of depression, anxiety and state-sponsored disorders such as omphalophobia and scopophobia.

In an attempt to reassure the nervous nation, the government requested that each local council create its own version of the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' slogan, which had been so successful during the Second World War and the tedious stretches that followed it.

Scarfolk Council came up with the following poster campaign which depicted a kindly nurse gently helping an apprehensive, inadequate child to the 11th floor of Scarfolk's historic Pillywinks Building. No one really knew what happened in the Pillywinks Building; the only indication was a sign beside the front door which stated: 'Butchers and other educators, please use tradesman's entrance'.

The campaign also introduced its mascot, Neville Inevitable. Council workers routinely donned two-metre tall Neville costumes and turned up to sing a song to ailing and injured people just before they died. The song featured a loud countdown clock and lyrics that encouraged the dying to relinquish their grip on life as expeditiously as possible to reduce unnecessary strain on the NHS.

6 comments:

  1. "the tedious stretches that followed"... brilliant!

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  2. I eagerly await the musical as written by Tim Minchin.

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  3. That bird mask is deliciously creepy. It looks like an exact copy of what the plague doctors were wearing during the Great Plague of London.

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  4. Any chance of getting Neville Inevitable dolls out for next christmas?

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  5. Never did work on the psychic kids. Even if they could be grabbed (Which was rare indeed) They would turn to mist and disappeared before they ever got them up the stairs.

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