Fearless Leader

Red capitalized text below an illustration of a green alien-like creature with large feet, large eyes, angry eyebrows, and yellow glasses.  

The big-glasses frog over the bold “FEARLESS LEADER” caption is a tongue-in-cheek praise for whoever’s “in charge.” It’s a mash-up of two pop-culture lines: the sci-fi gag “take me to your leader” (made famous by a 1953 New Yorker cartoon) and “Fearless Leader,” the dictator character from The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show (1959–64). Put together, “take me to your fearless leader” took off later as a snarky joke in office talk and on novelty merchandise. The airbrushed blue gradient, chunky halftone dots, and a simple, high-contrast cartoon fit the late-’70s/’80s wave of mass-market novelty buttons designed to be read from a few feet away.

Mr. Button Products, Inc. is an Indiana company that’s been around since 1973. They make custom pin-backs and also sell the tools and parts to create your own. The company also makes button machines, dies, magnets, and other accessories in lots of sizes. The company is a long-running, still-active operation.