| Because piggy banks go hand in hand with saving money, various financial institutions have frequently made use of piggy banks in their promotions. Most of the time this entails a bank's advertising their establishment on the piggy banks themselves, and then distributing these banks as giveaways to customers and potential customers. However, rarely has a piggy bank promotion been as creative as the following NatWest promotion from the 80's.
From 1983 to 1988 the National Westminster Bank (NatWest), a commercial bank in the United Kingdom, held a promotion to encourage young children to save their money in NatWest savings accounts. The idea was to give the kids a different bank from a family of five ceramic piggy banks, reflective of the amount of money saved. The different levels of savings to be reached had to be made within a set period of time to qualify for the next piggy bank in the family.
When the account was first opened, the child was given Woody, a piggy bank baby wearing a pinned diaper. When the balance of the account reached 25 pounds or more (approximately US$45.50 today), the child was then given “Annabel”, a girl piggy bank wearing a green dress with a green and yellow striped tie. The next of the group was Maxwell, a boy piggy bank wearing blue trousers and a red and white striped tie. He was presented to the child when their bank statement reached 50 pounds (approximately US$91.00 today). The mother piggy bank, Lady Hillary, was the prize for saving 75 pounds (approximately US$136.50 today) or more. She wore a light blue blouse with a bow. To receive Sir Nathaniel Westminster, the father in a black suit and a red bowtie, the balance achieved had to be at least 100 pounds (approximately US$181.95 today).
In 1988, NatWest introduced a sixth member of their piggy bank family. This was Cousin Wesley, wearing a green jacket, blue trousers, and a blue cap with one ear sticking through. He was only given to customers under age 16 that had saved at least 1000 pounds in a children’s savings bond for at least 5 years. Only 5000 Cousin Wesley piggy banks were ever produced.
The first batch of piggy banks made for NatWest were produced by a company called Sunshine Ceramics. They were soon overwhelmed by the demand for the banks, and production was shortly thereafter taken over by another company, Wade Ceramics Ltd.
The NatWest piggy bank promotion was a huge success and the piggy banks themselves have since become sought after collectibles. Cousin Wesley, being the rarest of the group, is the most expensive and desirable of the family. Because of the demand and value of the banks, fakes and forgeries abound on the open market. To see pictures of the banks, and learn about the different ceramic stamps and other details to help determine a true bank from a fake, visit www.piggybankpage.co.uk/wade_NatWest.htm
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