John Bull the "blue and buff" scheme; this was used by supporters of Whig politics, which was part of what John Arbuthnot wished to deride when he created and designed the character. By the twentieth century, however, his waistcoat nearly always depicts a Union Flag, and his coat is generally dark blue. (Otherwise, however, his clothing still echoes the fashions of the Regency period.) He also wears a low topper (sometimes called a John Bull topper) on his head and is often accompanied by a bulldog. John Bull has been used in a variety of different ad campaigns over the years, and
Sir John Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet Sir John Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet Sir John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet, MBE, TD (11 February 1912 – 13 June 1992) was a British Conservative politician. Arbuthnot was born in Kittybrewster, the son of Major Kenneth Wyndham Arbuthnot, who was the son of William Reierson Arbuthnot and Janet Elspeth Sinclair Wemyss. Kenneth had served with the Seaforth Highlanders since 1893, fighting in the Chitral Expedition in 1895, in the Mahdist War in the Sudan in 1898 (including the Battle of Omdurman), and in the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1902. He was brigade major of the Gordon Infantry Brigade