Today sees the launch of the London 2012 Olympic Mascots. Named Wenlock and Mandeville, these two interesting characters have been unveiled as joint mascots, rather than sticking to the norm of having one main character.
The character’s description/guidelines have been set out in great detail on Creative Review’s blog. There has obviously been a lot of care and consideration taken into the development of the characters, going into a lot of detail on specific elements. You do have to question the extent to which our country is represented in the character itself. Granted, there is an element of reference to London in the use of the “Taxi Hire” sign which adorns the Black Cabs of London.
It’s easy to knock something (we’ve all been on the receiving end), and we’re not here to do that, however the overall look and feel of the character I feel, is actually quite Eastern and more akin to the likes of anime, rather than something you would assume was quintessentially British. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want a lion wearing a Union Jack Cape with a Bulldog sidekick, or perhaps an large bipedal stiff upper lip, but there should be more of an inclusion of something that separates us as a nation. It doesn’t have to be cliché.
I’m looking forward to seeing how their personality will exude in static media, as they seem to lack the warmth that Javier Mariscal’s Catalan sheepdog Cobi had. The jury is still out until more examples of their use are evident. Cobi proved to be a very lucrative source of income for the olympics, a definite commercial success. I hope Wenlock and Mandeville have similar success.
What are your thoughts? Like or dislike? We’ll have to lump them whatever the choice! I’m still undecided.
Projector are currently: In the studio in somewhat tropical temperatures and humidity.