Pete-payphone (1994)
Pete-payphone was a BT Education Service publication, produced in the style of a comic. ‘Pete’ was an anacronym to teach children about payphone provision and behaviours: P stood for: ‘Piece of cake to use’, E: ‘Everywhere (where you’ll find BT payphones)’; T: ‘Thickheads who vandalise payphones’; and E: ‘Emergencies (calls are free).’ In this comic strip, two children were chased by a bully for their dinner money and missed their bus home. Encouraged by Pete-payphone, the children telephoned home to let their parents know what had happened. BT’s educational materials in the 1980s and 1990s repeated the message about the telephone’s role in helping children in various situations. Pete-payphone also emphasised the accessibility of payphones to children.
BT Group Archives: TCE 306/PHME 18460
