In 1950, Gene Autry reached number seven on the charts with Frosty the Snowman. It was soon followed by a short film and merchandising. By 1953, the National Safety Council latched on to the concept and introduced “Uncle Melty” as part of their PSA campaign to educate drivers how to brake on snow and ice.

Uncle Melty in the cartoons are some of the funniest cartoons at first glance and even a little disturbing. In one cartoon, Melty is running next to a car giving the driver the bird and telling him melted ice is slicker. In the next one, Melty is lording over a driver who just crashed saying he did use the correct braking technique. In the third cartoon, it looks like Melty has just savagely beat a driver with a set of tire chains.

Most of the Uncle Melty cartoons were used as filled in newspapers if a story ran short or if an ad dropped. Also, the artist probably did not get paid that much for the illustrations. Who can blame him for having a little fun.