Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
I Keep 'Em Going Says Potato Pete, 1939 UK poster: A cartoon potato in goggles and headset sits in a saucepan mounted

I Keep 'Em Going Says Potato Pete

A cartoon potato in goggles and headset sits in a saucepan mounted on a tank, with the line 'I keep 'em going, says Potato Pete'. The tell is the military vehicle and kit lent to a household vegetable, so that eating potatoes borrows the standing of the fighting forces.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
Potato Pete food campaign (British government; no imprint on sheet, number 3460210)
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
Home front, Economy and finance
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
Leader
Winston Churchill
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 Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Held by NARA, Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision (UK sheet, c. 1939-1945)
British government Potato Pete food campaign. National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-344b.

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

I keep
'em
going

says POTATO PETE

3460210

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