Everyone say “Nee how” to the official mascots of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.
Almost immediately after their unveiling on the morning of November 27, Internet message boards flooded with mixed reactions to the three new characters. But by saying mixed, it is meant that the response was negative with a very light sprinkling of praise.
These new mascots look more like Asian cartoon characters than West Coast icons. The fact that they are not concrete animals, just imaginary creatures, reflects the ongoing theme of 2010's unrealistic goals and confused outlook. Sumi (an animal spirit) is a horrible rip-off of Haida culture; Quatchi (a sasquatch) looks like a cross between the Kokanee spokesfoot and Barney Gumble from the Simpsons.; and Miga (a sea bear) looks like the result of a panda bear and cat mating gone awry.
Two of the creatures, Sumi and Miga, can transform. Is the “transforming creatures” idea just a grab for more dough? (“Well, you’ve got the bear-form of Miga, but what about the whale-form? Gotta collect ‘em all!”) Or was it that VANOC just couldn’t make up their minds about which animal to exploit?
The selection for the official mascot can be difficult. The chosen creature has to be able to participate in all of the Olympic and Paralympic sports. It also must be appealing to children, as kids are the biggest market for the mascots in toys and apparel. This explains why a salmon was not the best candidate, as fish would only be able to participate in the Paralympic sports due to the fact they do not have two legs. Anything edible was also not a good choice, because whichever meat market the mascot reflected might take a financial hit since children would protest to eating “Sammy the Olympic Salmon” or “Venison the Olympic Fawn.”
A trip to the 2010’s mascot website offers a more thorough introduction to the three freaks of nature, and passing a cursor over their pictures reveals the distinct voices of each. Sumi sounds like he is excitedly discussing VANOC’s habit of legally pursuing small businesses in Vancouver (Sue me!!), Quatchi repeats his name in a voice vaguely reminiscent of Ludo from the movie Labyrinth and Miga is a blatant rip-off of Pikachu from Pokemon.
Internet polls suggested the “spirit bear” was a popular favourite amongst the public, along with the killer whale, harbour seal and raven.
The two previous Canadian Olympic mascots were Amik the Beaver (1976, Montreal), which looked like a turd on a stick, and the brother and sister bear team of Hidy and Howdy (1988, Calgary), who probably hindered the Spirit Bear’s chance at becoming the mascot of Vancouver.
The Olympics are a venue for sport, but they are also an excellent place to showcase national and international issues. VANOC had the chance to present a mascot that could make a strong statement, but they seem to have enough controversy on their plate. An Inukshuk holding a club and a dead seal would have been a good representation of Canadian life. Drawing from current events, “Timmy the Taser” could’ve been the new mascot to greet our foreign guests at the airport.
Other more valid representations of West Coast life include:
“Hastings the Hobo”
“Jimmy the Needle”
“Pokey the Pine Beetle”
“Ricky the Rice Wine”
“Peter MacKay the Dog”
“Emerson the Defective MP”
“Bobby the Bedbug”
Whatever people think about the choice, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief with the discovery that VANOC did not go the Power Rangers route that Beijing 2008 did—or did they? (Miga could be Jingjing the Panda’s sister.) But unlike Vancouver, Beijing did choose animals (fish, panda, antelope and swallow) that are edible—probably because trying to find an animal the Chinese don’t eat would prove far too challenging. They even added Haunhaun, a “child of fire,” for easy accessible cooking of the other mascots.
So, like them or hate them, get ready for another two years of Sumi, Quatchi and Miga bombardment. Don’t worry; they are only out to kill you—with love.
Almost immediately after their unveiling on the morning of November 27, Internet message boards flooded with mixed reactions to the three new characters. But by saying mixed, it is meant that the response was negative with a very light sprinkling of praise.
These new mascots look more like Asian cartoon characters than West Coast icons. The fact that they are not concrete animals, just imaginary creatures, reflects the ongoing theme of 2010's unrealistic goals and confused outlook. Sumi (an animal spirit) is a horrible rip-off of Haida culture; Quatchi (a sasquatch) looks like a cross between the Kokanee spokesfoot and Barney Gumble from the Simpsons.; and Miga (a sea bear) looks like the result of a panda bear and cat mating gone awry.
Two of the creatures, Sumi and Miga, can transform. Is the “transforming creatures” idea just a grab for more dough? (“Well, you’ve got the bear-form of Miga, but what about the whale-form? Gotta collect ‘em all!”) Or was it that VANOC just couldn’t make up their minds about which animal to exploit?
The selection for the official mascot can be difficult. The chosen creature has to be able to participate in all of the Olympic and Paralympic sports. It also must be appealing to children, as kids are the biggest market for the mascots in toys and apparel. This explains why a salmon was not the best candidate, as fish would only be able to participate in the Paralympic sports due to the fact they do not have two legs. Anything edible was also not a good choice, because whichever meat market the mascot reflected might take a financial hit since children would protest to eating “Sammy the Olympic Salmon” or “Venison the Olympic Fawn.”
A trip to the 2010’s mascot website offers a more thorough introduction to the three freaks of nature, and passing a cursor over their pictures reveals the distinct voices of each. Sumi sounds like he is excitedly discussing VANOC’s habit of legally pursuing small businesses in Vancouver (Sue me!!), Quatchi repeats his name in a voice vaguely reminiscent of Ludo from the movie Labyrinth and Miga is a blatant rip-off of Pikachu from Pokemon.
Internet polls suggested the “spirit bear” was a popular favourite amongst the public, along with the killer whale, harbour seal and raven.
The two previous Canadian Olympic mascots were Amik the Beaver (1976, Montreal), which looked like a turd on a stick, and the brother and sister bear team of Hidy and Howdy (1988, Calgary), who probably hindered the Spirit Bear’s chance at becoming the mascot of Vancouver.
The Olympics are a venue for sport, but they are also an excellent place to showcase national and international issues. VANOC had the chance to present a mascot that could make a strong statement, but they seem to have enough controversy on their plate. An Inukshuk holding a club and a dead seal would have been a good representation of Canadian life. Drawing from current events, “Timmy the Taser” could’ve been the new mascot to greet our foreign guests at the airport.
Other more valid representations of West Coast life include:
“Hastings the Hobo”
“Jimmy the Needle”
“Pokey the Pine Beetle”
“Ricky the Rice Wine”
“Peter MacKay the Dog”
“Emerson the Defective MP”
“Bobby the Bedbug”
Whatever people think about the choice, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief with the discovery that VANOC did not go the Power Rangers route that Beijing 2008 did—or did they? (Miga could be Jingjing the Panda’s sister.) But unlike Vancouver, Beijing did choose animals (fish, panda, antelope and swallow) that are edible—probably because trying to find an animal the Chinese don’t eat would prove far too challenging. They even added Haunhaun, a “child of fire,” for easy accessible cooking of the other mascots.
So, like them or hate them, get ready for another two years of Sumi, Quatchi and Miga bombardment. Don’t worry; they are only out to kill you—with love.
1 comment:
Cute, I particularly like the comment on the difficulty in finding an animal which would not be palitable within chinese cuisine or penis enlargment medication.
My personal opinion on the whole graphic designer choice gets down to the simple fact that if you want native art, head down to East Hastings or the American... I'm sure VANOC could have found a very qualified native artist to carve up a whole set of semi-marketable cedar mascots to give the asian kids slivers for years to come. Probably would have only cost a bottle of sherry to boot.
http://shitfourbrains.blogspot.com/
Now check out this definition of Quatchi
http://www.definition-of.com/Quatchi
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