Mr Spendy was a jolly fellow who liked to spend his money willy-nilly, never
     saving for a rainy day. But his good green friend Mr Thrifty soon showed him
     the error of his wasteful ways...

     Mr Spendy was a creation of the Huddersfield & Bradford Building Society,
     and he was utilised to help get kids saving their money from an early age.
     Of course, he looked very much like one of those inifintely popular Mr Men,
     and indeed, the promotion had official permission for use of the 'Mr' title from
     Roger Hargreaves himself. Kathleen Smith and Susan Reed wrote and
     illustrated a short story about Mr Spendy and his pal Mr Thrifty and the book
     was presented in a regular "Mr Man" format, the only difference being that
     the background colour was an off-ish tan shade, as opposed to the
     regular white design of the originals. Mr Spendy also featured on the
     tie-in literature and on various promo bits and pieces.

     In the book, Mr Spendy is desperately unhappy when his neighbour,
     Mr Thrifty and his wife and kids, Penny and Prudence, set off on holiday
     to Sandilands-on-Sea. Poor Mr Spendy can't go with them, because he's
     been spending all his money on chocloates and sweets. Mr Thrifty says
     his friend's very silly, but doesn't explain himself until he returns from his
     holiday two weeks later. Mr Thrifty introduces the chap to the values of
     saving money, he and we learn about the society Passbook used for
     putting money into an account and all about the "interesting" rewards, and
     he directs us allto the friendly folk at Huddersfield & Bradford.
     
     So did the campaign work? - Well, yes, it did. At least, it persuaded many of
     The Hound's young classmates to open an account. But the novely soon
     wore off when we learned that more books weren't forthcoming!

 

    See also

    The Mr Men & Little Misses

 

    On the web
       

     The Mr Men
     The official site...

     Peter Gray's Mr Men site
     Not just the Mr Men, but all things Hargreaves-related can be found
     on this enthusiastic site from Peter Gray....




 
      index »    previous »