Zax is an animated

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fic ...

character featured in 1980s

public service announcements A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

for

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

electric power company

Duke Power Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Overview Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Duke Energy owns 58,200 megawatts of base-load and peak generation in ...

. The character, introduced in 1984, was designed to appeal to children, and educate them about the dangers of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

, and how to use energy more efficiently. Zax's voice was provided by Charlotte weatherman Larry Sprinkle. The character appeared in animated PSAs on television, in a Sunday newspaper comic strip, and in live appearances by a costumed actor at libraries and elementary schools.

History

In 1984, Duke Power released a series of public service announcements to educate children on how to be safe and use electricity efficiently. These cartoon PSAs featured a small, eager to learn computer generated program named Zax, and a group of children who tried to keep him from getting injured or killed by electricity. Zax appeared in a number of cartoon PSAs throughout the 1980s. In the first 60-second spot, a young boy, Billy, creates Zax on his computer. When Billy goes out to play with his friends, he says that he wishes Zax could come outside and play with them. Zax leaps from the computer screen to join the children, and immediately decides to climb a

transmission tower A transmission tower, also known as an electricity pylon or simply a pylon in British English and as a hydro tower in Canadian English, is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. In electrical ...

. The children explain that he's not being safe — kids should never try to climb electric poles or towers, or fly kites and planes close to

power lines Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...

. Zax thanks them, and admits, "Zax has much to learn. Will you teach me?" Billy replies, "This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship," as the group walks into the sunset. Other spots feature the children stopping Zax from taking a bath with electric devices nearby, going near downed power lines after a storm and other "misadventures". The PSAs concluded with the line, "This message brought to you by your friends at Duke Power." Duke Power also produced Zax teaching kits for classroom use, including posters, light switch faceplates, a film-strip and an audio cassette that featured Zax and his friends. In later years, Zax was used for Electric Safety poster contests. Zax was also used for local Earth Day events, along with fellow safety mascots

Smokey Bear Smokey Bear is an American campaign and advertising icon of the U.S. Forest Service. In the Wildfire Prevention Campaign, which is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in United States history, the Ad Council, the United St ...

and

Woodsy the Owl Woodsy Owl is a national symbol and advertising character for the United States Forest Service with the aim of motivating children to form healthy, lasting relationships with nature. Harold Bell of Western Publishing (and the producer of the ...

. As late as 1997, Duke Power was still distributing Zax coloring books and showing a film called "Zax's Electric Safety Team" at North Carolina

4-H club 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...

meetings. They also produced a highly limited number of stuffed Zax toys in 1986. Duke's "World of Energy" exhibition hall at the

Oconee Nuclear Station The Oconee Nuclear Station is a nuclear power station located on Lake Keowee near Seneca, South Carolina, and has a power output capacity of over 2,500 megawatts. It is the second nuclear power station in the United States to have its oper ...

Seneca, South Carolina Seneca is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,102 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area (population 74,273 at the 2010 census), an (MSA) that includes ...

, includes a display with a life-sized sculpture of Zax.{{cite web , last1=Jarvis , first1=Robin , title=Not Many People Can Boast Of Visiting A Nuclear Power Plant But Duke's World Of Energy Is A Must-See Attraction In South Carolina , url=https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-carolina/world-of-energy-duke-power-attraction-sc/ , website=Only In Your State , access-date=2 July 2020 , date=January 23, 2020

References

Television characters introduced in 1984 Male characters in animation Duke Energy Public service announcement characters Children's health in the United States Electrical safety

History

See also

References