It was the early-1990's, and Ronald Regan had just deregulated the electric power industry. I was bored.
With deregulation, the TVA, (Tennessee Valley Authority), which had once monopolized the generation and distribution of electricity, suddenly found itself on an alien playing field, rife with looming competition and desperately in need of a real marketing manager, no, an entire marketing department and mission. Now they had to woo their 160+ power distributors and directly-served industrial customers in a seven state area, or risk loosing their business. In dire need of a marketing manager, they hired me.
One early campaign idea I came up with was "You need it, We got it," and my second brainstorm, "Where else can you go?" was catchy and to the point, but both fell on deaf ears. TVA is an government agency, and obviously, there was no room for silly campaigns. Time to get serious. We needed a theme and a spoke-person.
I created "Eddie Current, the Ambassador of POWER," who was an electrifying success, and set off to sell, sell, sell on their clearly stated mission. But in my during windshield time covering the vast TVA territory, my mind wandered as it is often prone to do. This is how the "What is Electricity" story came to be.
