After weeks of speculation and CSIS-like secrecy, the Vancouver 2010 committee released it’s mascots Tuesday, to the complete delight of a room of more than 800 schoolchildren.
Out of the shadows of the stage curtains at the Bell Centre in Surrey lumbered anime-esque creatures ‘Miga’, ‘Quatchi’, and ‘Sumi’ - the official 2010 Olympic Mascots.
And the Canadian public gasped.
Gone are the stereotypical Polar Bear, Moose and Loon. Not even a Maple Leaf, a Hockey Puck or a Beaver to be seen. For the love of God, couldn’t VANOC have approached Molson and asked for sponsorship of an “I Am Canadian” Beer Can? Or perhaps we could have dressed an eight-year-old in a hockey jersey and introduced “Bruiser the Bully” as our national Olympic icon?
Now THAT would have been worthy of national adoration.
The backlash has already begun. CBC.ca reports that their site has been ‘flooded’ with comments, mostly negative, from frightened Canadians everywhere screaming - among other profanities - ‘what are these things?’, ‘the world’s going to hell in a handbasket’ and ‘Oh Dear Lord, the Apocalypse is Nigh!’
Not since the switch to metric have we seen so much public outcry. Who knew that three cuddly little people dressed up in furry costumes would be cause to incite an otherwise meek Canuck public to riot?
Sure, on the surface these three mascot amigos may not look too ‘Canadian’, but dig a bit deeper and you’ll find interesting AND commercially viable backstories for these characters.
Miga - part sea-bear and part orca whale, is inspired by the First Nations’ legends of the Pacific Northwest. Quatchi - a shy and gentle Sasquatch, is meant to conjure the mystery and wonder associated with Canada’s wilderness. And Sumi - an animal guardian spirit, who flies with the wings of the thunderbird, is described as “a natural born leader with a passion for protecting the environment.”
Call me crazy, but I feel proud. This is commercial multiculturalism at one of its finest moments! Combine Japanese anime cartoon style, First Nations mythology and European capitalism and you get these three amazing characters that deserve their shelf space at Toys ‘R Us just as much as the next Bratz doll. Canada has officially entered the 21st century!
Newsboards at the two national broadcasters are abuzz with video clips documenting the ‘initial response to the mascots’. Otherwise news-hardened reporters are taking on the fuzzy job of ‘meeting the mascots’ and asking of course, the all important question ‘how much do the mascots need to earn in order to be successful?’
And while Canadians everywhere may bitch and moan about the lack of Canuck iconography in these characters - you take a close look at the first Canadian Olympic mascot, Montreal’s beaver “Amik,” or “Hidy” and “Howdy” the ‘88 Olympics’ pair of cowboy hat-wearing polar bears - and tell me that those mascots were any better. Embarrasingly Canadian? Yes. Doing much to change our international image as ‘The Great White North?’ Probably not.
These creatures have been created as a money making venture for what history has shown to be an otherwise money-losing venture. And if marketing straight to the kids is good enough for McDonald’s, then dammit, it should be good enough for us.
