If the Absentee Bugs bite you... Tell us
Bulletin board placard: a cartoon worker with a wrench in his pocket slaps his neck while bees labelled Poor Transportation, Bad Housing, Child Care, Accident, Shopping and Illness buzz around him. The technique is faint: friendly cartoon and a first-person invitation ('Tell us') present absence causes as shared everyday troubles.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- War Production Drive Headquarters, Labor Management Committee (U.S. Government Printing Office; artist Seaman)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Labor, Home front
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
War Production Drive Headquarters, Labor Management Committee. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1057 (NAID 514581).
Text on the object
IF THE Absentee Bugs BITE YOU ... POOR TRANSPORTATION BAD HOUSING CHILD CARE ACCIDENT SHOPPING ILLNESS Tell us YOUR LABOR MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE [signature:] SEAMAN [imprint:] U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1943-O-525298 WAR PRODUCTION DRIVE HEADQUARTERS BULLETIN BOARD PLACARD NO. 27
