Zax was a cartoon alien employed by the Duke Energy (then called Duke Power) Corporation in the early to mid 1980s to educate children on the dangers and how not to waste electricity. The voice of Zax was portrayed by Charlotte weatherman Larry Sprinkle.
Contents
History
In 1984 Duke Power decided to release a series of public service announcements (PSAs) to educate children on how to be safe and use electricity efficiently. These cartoon PSAs featured a small, eager to learn alien named Zax, and a group of children who constantly had to keep Zax from getting injured or killed by electricity.
In the late 1980s to early 1990s Zax seemed to have disappeared altogether. There is no mention of Zax on the Duke Energy website. It's almost as if Duke Energy were trying to erase him from history. However, someone such as Zax who had such a profound effect on children of the 1980s will never forget how much they learned from him. He now has an Official Facebook Page, at last!
The PSAs
Zax appeared in a number of cartoon PSAs throughout the 1980s. Only a 1989 Christmas PSA can be found online to watch here. Several PSAs that aired featured the following scenarios: Zax taking a bath with a hairdryer, stereo and portable TV all around the bathtub, the blonde boy, named Billy, from the group of children comes into the bathroom and tells Zax that he is not being safe and that he could be injured or killed by using electric devices by water. Another PSA featured after a tornado Zax and the children discover downed power lines and have to teach Zax that it's not safe for him to go near them that he could get "hurt or even killed!". All the PSAs ended with the same line: "This message brought to you by your friends at Duke Power."
Energy conservation kit
In 1984 Duke Power issued a kit to teachers across the Carolinas to help educate the children in their classes on electricity. The kit came in a cardboard box with Zax on the lid of the box. Found inside the kit was a poster featuring several panels of how to conserve energy with Zax and his friends; a light switch faceplate featuring Zax reminding you to turn out the light when you leave the room; membership cards to be given to children who took Zax's pledge to be safe and not waste electricity; a film-strip and an audio cassette that featured an adventure of Zax and his friends; several mimeograph worksheets for children to do; stickers that featured the same panels used on the poster included.