Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi

Good to see that the modern day advertisers keep an eye on what has happened in history! And the CEO is not too busy to check his own blog.. I like that!

Wikipedia: Still There + Some New Additions

Good, I seem to have got the level of the content right (oh, I  have more, but I don’t think they want everything on there!), as I’m still on there, and the main editor has gone in and made further changes, so that’s all good news! Welcome if you’re visiting via Wikipedia!

Meantime, another article in response to Rob Walker’s article: Signs of the Times

Wikipedia Entry: Keep Calm and Carry On

Who knows who edits these different Wikipedia entries. I have tried a few times to add information to this site, but I think partly because so many companies are trying to sell it, they are being super-strict. However, I am the global expert on the subject, so here’s hoping they think I have something to say. If not, you can read it here!

Celebrity “Wearers” of Keep Calm and Carry On

Celebrities love to wear “statement t-shirts” and what could be more of a statement than “Keep Calm and Carry On”

• Katie Price (Jordan)
• Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley of Harry Potter)
• James May (Top Gear) (using the phrase in context)
• Ben Bradshaw (Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport)
• Philip Hollobone (Conservative MP)
• Neil Reddin (Conservative Councillor, Bromley)]

If you want to buy one of these t-shirts, or other bits and pieces, I’ve been checking out Barter Books, and Keep Calm London, and Yes/No Maybe

Now Panic and Freak Out and other variations

Now, everyone knows about the alternate slogan “Now Panic and Freak Out”, but I don’t think I’ve ever put an image of it up here, this one is taken from Threadless.

I have always loved finding subverted images of the posters that I studied:

• The further that you go into Google Images, the more variations that you find!
• Flickr has a number of “Design Variations“
• “Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake” was also featured in the New York Times
• “Keep Calm and Spray On” perfume!
• Keep Calm and Carry On (with mice)
• Keep Calm and McLaren On
• Keep Calm and Customise
• Deviant Art
• Detroit Variation
• 12 months of ideas on a calendar
• DoobyBrain: Change Words and Be Hilarious
• Make your own!

Other Entries

• What Quebec Wants
• Dr Bex Lewis in the New York Times (now this is the closest I’ve come to seeing the print item – so far!)
• A blog entry by Crossed Wires.
• Whirled Peas: KCCO
• Choose a Shoe (but it’s not an RAF poster, it’s the Ministry of Information!)
• Cian Ó Laoghaire
• Leave Duff and Carry On (The Simpsons-esque)
• Slogan for a Parenting Blog!
• So many variations in colour too. I have the red one from Barter Books, but I have to say I love purple nearly as much, it’s tempting!

Who likes it/mentions it (according to Google Alerts!)?
I’m just fascinated to see how it’s been repurposed!

• Lose That Girl
• Leah from London
• Breizh from Morgantown, USA
• See in Technicolour
• Daisy-Chain
• PlusNet Community
• Meet the Hazards
• Music, Track No 6 on their MySpace (not sure it’s my taste, but interesting none-the-less)
• Interior Designer (anti-the-”fad”)
• Should the Swedes take on the phrase?
• Splendicity
• Give Away Today
• Silvio Berlusconi?
• Parasol Party
• Rob Cherry, seen in a Beach Hut
• What(Ever) [highlighted some rude ones, just to warn you!]
• Pedlars
• Lexie (mind the music!)
• BCreativeNot Crazy
• Jamie
• Helen Morgan

I have, like, over 100 Google Alerts come in – stopped at around 40ish, have other work to do today, but there’s so much information on this – SO interesting!

Freedom is in Peril: Defend it With all Your Might

Not content with “Keep Calm and Carry On”, there’s now a site for “Freedom is in Peril: Defend it with All Your Might”, one of the series of three posters published alongside KCCO!  Shame there’s no history on there, maybe I’ll find some more to put up… but I do like the fact that they are donating part of their sales to charity!

Rubber Soul: Rubber Stamp

After seeing these rubber stamps advertised on Barter Books, I thought I’d follow the link to Rubber Soul, and have purchased one of each. Now I just need to find a red ink pad so that I can use them, once they appear from the States!

I can then stamp all kinds of things, what a way to spend a day!

The Experts Agree also picked up on these rubber stamps. I must remember to act on their Wikipedia advice, as all the information is from my research, would like the credit for it, and of course Wikipedia is so huge (even if we don’t like seeing the students using it!)

Barter Books: The Home of the Original “Keep Calm and Carry On” Poster

I know people say I should be cashing in on the Keep Calm and Carry On craze, and I will be giving a couple of conference papers related to the subject this summer (and I’m planning on creating a more general-audience friendly paper too, so let me know if you’re be interested in that), but I’m more than happy to send all customers to Barter Books, who own one of only 2 original copies of this poster known to be in existence (if you know of another one, I’d be interested to know, although my budget wouldn’t stretch to buying one – currently saving up for the apron!), so they, and the owner of the other poster (I’m sure I’ve seen it at the IWM/National Archives, so maybe there’s more than 2), then own the copyright to those images (if not to the poster itself, which is now publicly available)!

Barter Books sell:

• Reproduction Posters
• T-Shirts
• Aprons & Tea Towels
• Mugs & Mouse-Mats
• Postcards, Book, Rubber Stamp (Note: This is the book for which I will shortly be hosting a competition, they’ll be 10 copies to win)

Read more in Journalive.co.uk (February 2009)

Thanks to Barter Books for acknowledging that their historical material comes from my PhD, actually, not my PhD, my undergraduate thesis. I have more information, which as I find it, will appear on this blog! I’m not affiliated with Barter Books, but we share a true interest in this poster! I’ve posted this in response to my Twitter feed, where I’d commented that this was the original home, and had a response that @ironyboy had visited the bookshop recently and had thought “pah, copycats”, so, just to clarify… the originators of the craze!

Eastern Daily Press Article, April 2009

I forgot I’d collected these last time I visited my parents, so just taken a quick photo, and added this article from the Eastern Daily Press (I’m not mentioned it it, well not directly, although I’m sure it’s taken the history indirectly from my PhD as have most articles!).