The 2012 Olympic Mascots

[lupestripe]

They have just been unveiled and it's another disappointment I'm afraid. They are amorphous blobs of steel, which is highly ironic considering that we hardly have any steel industry left any more. Anyway, there is little exciting from a furry aspect - I was hoping for a cuddly lion myself - but I guess pushing the boundaries is the order of the day.

Wenlock and Mandeville are their names, which at least is quintessentially British I suppose. Apparently, they are set to feature in animated form so there could be a cute factor going on. They are also set to have their own Facebook and Twitter pages which would give them a stronger identity and they already have a back story so clearly the creators are trying to foster a strong sense of characterisation. I don't think this has been done to this extent before in this field of mascotting.

So perhaps they will grow on me like the 2012 Olympic logo has. I see parallels with Monsters Inc so perhaps it could work out well in the end. I guess we will wait and see.

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/london_2012/8690467.stm

Comments

[schnee.livejournal.com]

"The children told us a number of things: they weren't that sold on furry animals and they actually wanted a story," Coe added.

And that's why you shouldn't let children design your characters.

(And what's with the whole "character and backstory" part, anyway? They're supposed to be mascots: draw attention to the games, not away from the games to themselves.)

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

"And that's why you shouldn't let children design your characters."

The new mascot for my workplace (an anthropomorphic bowling ball covered in stars holding a bucket of popcorn - don't ask!) is a case in point. Luckily, it hasn't yet been turned into a costume yet.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

(an anthropomorphic bowling ball covered in stars holding a bucket of popcorn - don't ask!)

I'm trying, but I'm really finding it very hard not to ask now. o.o

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

The consequence of a witless, menopausal 50-year-old secretary being allowed to choose the winning mascot design, I'm afraid.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Any pictures of the logo? :)

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

For shame:

http://www.festivalleisure.co.uk/index.php

The bit with the stars is the logo.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Interesting; that site seems to reliably/reproducibly crash Firefox.

[keeganfox.livejournal.com]

The page works for me (Firefox 3.6.3) but I'm not seeing any characters, just a copy of the Las Vegas welcome sign.

[lastres0rt.livejournal.com]

See, THIS is what happens in any contest-type scenario. No matter who wins, you ultimately end up with an inferior design compared to a professional -- even if you were only willing to pay that professional the same money you would've spent on the contest.