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Many of us are familiar with Smiley the squirrel. After all, he has been with us for over 40 years, teaching children to save and is still going strong.
Shortly after Singapore’s independence, then-Minister for Finance Goh Keng Swee saw the potential of Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) in fostering a savings culture among children and youths. The National School Savings Campaign (NSSC) was introduced to government and government-aided schools in 1969 to promote the virtue of thriftiness among students, as well as to encourage them to save.
In 1983, Smiley (then known as ‘Smily’) debuted as the mascot of POSB’s school savings programme. An animal known for saving food for rainy days, the squirrel was chosen as the mascot for the campaign with the aim of inspiring students to save money. Early versions of Smiley featured him as a brown squirrel in a tuxedo.
Smiley featured prominently in many of the POSB’s publicity materials for school children during the 1980s and the 1990s. Some of us may even remember receiving marketing collaterals like bookmarks, folders, stickers, and coin banks during our school days!
In the 1990s, Smiley got a new look in overalls, and was placed on the cover of POSB’s ‘First Account’ and ‘POSB Kids’ Savings Account’ passbooks.
In 2008, Smiley again underwent a makeover, resulting in the modern, revitalised look we see today. He continues to feature in POSB’s savings campaigns for children -- because the old fashioned habit of saving for tomorrow never goes out of style.
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