Play safe. Here's the whole story. Teamwork wins
Shipyard safety poster: a worker in a white Universal Safety hard hat chalks a list on a steel plate, with sketches of a helmet, goggles, a boot and a Safety Rules book. The plain-spoken worker delivers the message, and the Ships for Victory emblem and a Teamwork Wins banner tie safety to the war effort.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- United States Maritime Commission (Ships for Victory); painting from the National Safety Council; artist C. P. Benton
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- Labor, Home front, War and the military
- 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)
United States Maritime Commission. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1517 (NAID 515183).
Text on the object
PLAY SAFE HERE'S THE WHOLE STORY USE SAFETY EQUIPMENT SAFETY RULES USE COMMON SENSE TEAMWORK WINS UNITED STATES MARITIME COMMISSION SHIPS FOR VICTORY UNIVERSAL SAFETY [signature: C P BENTON] [imprint: U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1942-O-[illegible]] [imprint: Painting from the National Safety Council, Chicago, Illinois. Additional copies may be obtained from the Division of Public Relations, U. S. Maritime Commission, Washington, D. C.]
