This article really made me laugh, especially the part about how surprised officials were with the popularity of the Sumi mascot. Most host Olympic cities seem to have one mascot, but Vancouver 2010 has three. I guess they figure they can make triple the $$ by producing 3 different ones. Or if you don't want to fork over the $90 to get all three, maybe at least one of them will be "cute enough" for you to purchase.
At the time of their release last month, my first impression was, they looked like Pokemon, a big brown ugly square paper bag, and the third one, Sumi (pronounced Sue Me - as in what happens if you even think of the Olympic symbol without paying royalties to VANOC) which I thought was slightly better than the other two. Although, after seeing previous Olympic mascots, I think these could be much much worse. Type in "olympic mascots" in Google and click on images to know see for yourself.
Okay, now to the funny part. They tested public reaction by showing these to grade school children in order to classify the marketability. I understand that children do have a lot of sway on what their parents buy, but last time I checked a second grader doesn't have the final say. Especially if your buying a souvenir for a friend or a Christmas present for a child. Now they are shocked that they are out of the Sumi because they assumed he wouldn't sell like the other two simply because some elementary kids told them so. I know if I were to buy a souvenir for someone it wouldn't be some $45 sasquatch in the shape of paper bag - it would be Sumi.
Which Olympic mascot do you like the best? You can see them at this site.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
What the World Eats...
Germany : The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07
Favourite foods: fried potatoes with onions, bacon and herring, fried noodles with eggs and cheese, pizza, vanilla pudding
United States: The Revis family of North Carolina
Food expenditure for one week : $341.98
Favourite foods : spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken
Japan: The Ukita family of Kodaira City
Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25
Favourite foods : sashimi, fruit, cake, potato chips
Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
Favourite foods: fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks
Great Britain: The Bainton family of Cllingbourne Ducis
Food expenditure for one week : 155.54 British Pounds or $253.15
Favourite foods: avocado, mayonnaise sandwich, prawn cocktail, chocolate fudge cake with cream
Kuwait : The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City
Food expenditure for one week : 63.63 dinar or $221.45
Family recipe: Chicken biryani with basmati rice
Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
Favourite foods: pizza, crab, pasta, chicken
China : The Dong family of Beijing
Food expenditure for one week: 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06
Favourite foods: fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce
Poland : The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
Family recipe: Pig's knuckles with carrots, celery and parsnips
United States : The Caven family of California
Food expenditure for one week : $159.18
Favourite foods: beef stew, berry yogurt sundae, clam chowder, ice cream
Egypt : The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week : 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Family recipe: Okra and mutton
Mongolia: The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar
Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02
Family recipe: Mutton dumplings
Ecuador : The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week : $31.55
Family recipe: Potato soup with cabbage
Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork
Chad : The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week : 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
Favourite foods: Anything edible!!
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