Board game:Step Up . . . A Game of Modern Living

Ashton P. Collins of the Alabama Power Company collaborated with an artist to create the electricity-friendly Reddy Kilowatt in 1926. Various cartoonists and animators refined the character's image over the years but his position, for most of the 20th century, was to promote the rural electrification project and promote the support of independently operating investor-owned utility companies. Participating utilities had access to huge clip-art notebooks, full of friendly images of the lightning-bolt-limbed ambassador. Although more recent supporters of the Reddy Kilowatt character's use believe he can still serve as spokesperson for a greener elecrical future, and some few utilities worldwide still utilize him, in general the character has fallen away from advertising campaigns for most American utilities. A board game from 1964 promotes increased use of electicity in the home. The game's winner is the first to achieve a "Total Electric Home."