ELMER THE SAFETY ELEPHANT

ELMER THE SAFETY ELEPHANT

This character was copyrighted by the newspaper The Telegram [Toronto], but it was Charles Thorson who designed this cuddly icon for a nationwide traffic safety campaign for school children.

The Elmer Safety Campaign was a joint effort between the Toronto Metro Safety Council, Ontario Safety League and the Telegram. In 1947, Vern Page of the Traffic Division of the Toronto Police Force devised a green pennant with the white silhouette of an elephant on it – because elephants never forget – as the show piece for the traffic safety campaign launched November 1, 1947. In the campaign’s first year of operation there was a 44% reduction in accidents involving school children. Richard MacFarlane wrote “ … [J Douglas] MacFarlane [City Editor at the Telegram] said the Elmer initiative was one of the most rewarding public services ever under taken by the newspaper”.

In 1952, Charlie began working for the Telegram and redesigned the silhouette into a cuddly little elephant that looked a lot like the Elmer the Elephant character design he did while at Disney Studios. According to Gene Walz, Vern Page, the police department, and the Telegram were ecstatic with the new design. With this creation as the base Charlie designed booklets, posters and colouring books for the subsequent campaigns.

MEDIUM:

BOOK GRAPHIC:

Content:

Educational :

Elmer’s Safety Firsts Win Again! Produced for the Toronto Metropolitan Police by Ganes Productions Ltd. No date.

SOURCE:

Book:

Canada’s Newspaper Legend: The Story of J. Douglas MacFarlane. Writ., Richard MacFarlane. ECW Press, 2000.

Cartoon Charlie: The Life and Art of Animation Pioneer Charles Thorson. Writ., Gene Walz. Great Plains Publications, 1998.

GALLERY:

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE CARTOON\IMAGE CARTOON E\ELMER THE SAFETY ELEPHANT, Metro Toronto Police Safety Division.jpg                                          Elmer The Safety Elephant Brochure, Metropolitian Toronto Police Safety Division.

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE CARTOON\IMAGE CARTOON E\ELMER SAFETY ELEPHANT, Cartoon Charlie, 1998, 204_0001.jpg Cartoon Charlie: The Life and Art of Animation Pioneer Charles Thorson. 1998: 204

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE CARTOON\IMAGE CARTOON E\ELMER SAFETY ELEPHANT, Cartoon Charlie, 1998, 204_0002.jpg Cartoon Charlie: The Life and Art of Animation Pioneer Charles Thorson. 1998: 204