Happy to save
The Sparefroh is an advertising figure that is used today by Erste Bank and the Austrian savings banks and is aimed primarily at children. During the 1960s and 1970s in particular, it was a symbol of austerity in everyday Austrian culture.
History of origin
Sparefroh actually comes from Germany, from the Deutsche Sparkassenverlag in Stuttgart . In the 1950s he came to Austria from Germany, where he became much more popular.
Sparefroh was brought to Salzburg by the heads of the Salzburger Sparkasse, Fritz Rücker and Franz Ruedl . Back then he was a rather inconspicuous, rigid man. It was the Salzburg graphic artist Leopold Juriga who gave the flexible figure its likeable appearance. Above all, the possibility of moving his arms and legs and thus bringing him to life appealed to the children and many adults. Franz Ruedl said at the time: “ There are many nice words about saving . But they are only enlivened by a pictorial impression. "
In 1956 , the Austrian Savings Banks Association recommended that all savings banks put the Sparefroh at the center of their savings advertising - especially on World Savings Day . The head of advertising at Zentralsparkasse Karl Damisch developed an extensive advertising campaign for Sparefroh with posters, letters, painting cards, bookmarks, handicraft sheets, trailers, etc. He also gave his name to a regularly published youth newspaper. So 1956 can be described as the year of birth of the Austrian Sparefroh.
Sparefroh newspaper
In 1969 the graphic designer Rosi Grieder gave Sparefroh a new, modern look. The Sparefroh newspaper was the teaching ministry as an official teaching materials recognized and appeared in the 1970s in an edition of 400,000 pieces. Over 60% of elementary school students and around 80% of secondary school and secondary school students read the booklet. The Sparefroh newspaper was the largest youth magazine in Austria at the time , its publisher was and is still today the Sparkassenverband. The newspaper contained general educational articles, competitions and short stories, mostly with educational content.
After Karl Damisch and Rosi Grieder, Franz Josef Barta took over the editing of the Sparefroh newspaper and changed the style from a teaching aid to a guide for children up to the age of 12. Barta had already designed the popular TV clown Enrico ( Heinz Zuber ) and was jointly responsible for the concept of the successful children's TV program “ Am dam des ”. The comic - artist Eugen Kment transformed the Sparefroh from arid wire male to a human-emotional character who was a friend of the children to the center of many picture stories. Another important graphic designer at Sparefroh was Heinz Traimer in Vienna, who had the de facto monopoly on advertising for the Sparkassenverlag and Zentralsparkasse of the municipality of Vienna.
Symbolic figure of World Savings Day
The first Sparefroh poster appeared in 1956. Shortly afterwards, the first Sparefroh song was composed. On World Savings Day and other occasions, actors dressed up as the male with the shilling on his chest, the bright red triangular hat and the cheeky black lock of hair. Sparefroh costumes were popular at many children's parties. Sparefroh also appeared in photo competitions, competitions and even in a television film. The film "Der Zaubergroschen" produced by Josef Hübl shows him as the adviser of a miller who is setting his business on a new footing without borrowing, just by saving.
In the 1970s, Sparefroh was extremely popular in Austria. According to an investigation, more people knew his name than that of the incumbent Federal President. The pollster Fritz Karmasin explained this phenomenon as follows: “Happy to save is the symbol for a certain attitude. Saving is not always associated with joy, but with privation. One can 'save happily', however, if one has a closer eye on future savings than current deprivations. And that's what Sparefroh stands for. "
The Golden Sparefroh
In 1965, to the right of the main building of the Zentralsparkasse of the municipality of Vienna in the 3rd district of Vienna, the Sparefrohgasse between Vorderen Zollamtsstraße and Wien Mitte train station was named after Sparefroh, which is still there today. All school beginners received a Sparefroh as a badge from the Wiener Zentralsparkasse. Teachers and educators , as well as school classes and youth groups, received the “Golden Sparefroh” for special achievements in savings and economic education . So did the founder of school television and later mayor of Vienna , Helmut Zilk .
Sparefroh cult
Sparefroh has now achieved cult status . The Austrian professional collector Andreas Steinbach achieved 18,000 schillings (over 1308 euros ) for a Sparefroh PEZ donor . He sold the 10 cm figure to an American collector for this price. To this day, many Austrians keep a Sparefroh figure at home. The name Sparefroh has long been used in everyday language for particularly thrifty people.
In the 1980s, the symbolism of the Sparefroh faded a little. The figure was too closely associated with the classic savings account . Other forms of investment became popular, such as stocks and mutual funds. His imminent demise was already predicted. With “ Knax ” he also got competition from the savings banks. The Knax figures also come from Germany , but have hardly any educational tasks, but are used to entertain children. Soon, many savings banks preferred the “Knax Club” and the Knax newspaper had higher circulation than the Sparefroh newspaper.
Sparefroh comeback
The Sparefroh comeback in recent years came as a surprise. It was used more and more frequently by the savings banks as an advertising medium. A study by the savings bank group confirmed that the 30-50 year olds found him extremely popular. In 2006, Erste Bank und Sparkassen launched a large-scale relaunch campaign on his 50th birthday. Sparefroh appeared as the central advertising figure for World Savings Day 2006, including as an actor in a TV commercial for Erste Bank und Sparkasse . In the current retro trend, Sparefroh was designed by the illustrator Christo Penev in a 3D design as it was known from the 60s and 70s, but equipped with a bimetal coin similar to the current 1 euro coin. Unlike in the past, where the number 1 was to be read on the Sparefroh's belly coin, it is now the Sparkassen-S .
The shape of the trunk of the Sparefroh corresponds to an upright circular coin. However, their thickness is often thickened in relation to the diameter, as is typical for drawn comics and is also necessary for the confluence of sufficiently stable arms, legs and the neck. A golden or silvery color of the body is reminiscent of a coin metal, the central one is reminiscent of the design of the 1 Schilling or 1 Mark coin. The U-arch-shaped inscription "SPAREFROH" traces a laughing mouth like the smiley face . The four limbs and the neck are strongly contrasting in color and flexibility. When the 1 euro coin appeared with the number off-center, the Sparefroh had already been redesigned.
In September 2006 the Sportmagazin- Verlag carried out the redesign of the Sparefroh newspaper . With its new look, the magazine offers the children information about money , picture stories, competitions, games and suggestions for handicrafts. The illustrator Reinhard Kiesel has redesigned Sparefroh as a comic figure. As a result, the figure was further developed by the comic artist Stefan Neuwinger and is now drawn by the illustrator Daniel Spreitzer. Since the relaunch, the texts of the stories have been written by comic and book author Harald Havas .
Sparefroh is currently increasingly used as an ambassador for the topic of financial literacy . Sparefroh TV has been a cartoon since September 2010 . In the first program, “Was ist Geld”, the protagonists Kati and Klaus explore with Sparefroh how the development of money has taken place since the natural economy, right through to payment with credit cards. The polis center - political learning in schools - offers Sparefroh TV as supplementary teaching material for Austrian schools. There are now 10 episodes of Sparefroh TV in German and English.
In 2016, the Sparefroh will officially celebrate its 60th birthday at Erste Bank und Sparkassen.
Other figures
The Raiffeisen sector uses the Sumsi bee as a symbol for saving.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Anthology: Sparen am Alsergrund, Volume 49, No. 191, April 2008 | AU ISSN 0017-9809 Das Heimatmuseum Alsergrund (newsletter of the Alsergrund district museum)
- ^ Ö-Radio, October 31, 2015 morning, oe1.orf.at
