OLYMPIC MEDALS AND MASCOTS

In a previous article, we analyzed the logos and posters of the Olympic Games. In this material we will consider the features of medal design, as well as talk about the role of mascots in shaping the attitude of the audience to sporting events and the host country.

Each element of the identity should organically fit into the general concept and express the philosophy of the Olympics formulated by the organizers. Exactly as a properly designed corporate identity and logo are always in line with the brand’s promotional strategy. The work of KOLORO branding agency is based on these principles

Olympic medal design

An Olympic medal is more than just a badge of honor for athletic achievement. It is also part of the paraphernalia that the International Olympic Committee uses to promote the Olympic movement. Having made a brief excursion into history, let’s find out the patterns on the basis of which the design of medals was developed.

Summer Olympics Awards

The first medals were different for each Olympics. The subject matter of the drawings was predominantly ancient Greek: the god Zeus, the goddess of victory Nika and the victorious athlete.

At the Athens and Paris games, only the first two places were awarded. Since the St. Louis Olympics, organizers have also awarded medals for third place.

Since 1908, national symbols have been introduced into the design. The reverse side of the medal depicts:

• London is the patron saint of England, George the Victorious;
• Stockholm – herald and statue of Per-Henrik Ling, the founder of the Swedish gymnastics system;
• Antwerp – sculpture of the Roman legionary Silvius Bravo, with whose legend the city’s name is associated.

The images on the 1924 Paris Olympics medals have an entirely sporting theme, the first time the olive wreath is carried on the reverse.

In 1928, the Amsterdam Olympics introduced a standardized award design. The obverse depicts the goddess of victory Nika with a palm branch and laurel wreath. On the reverse side is the winning athlete being carried in his arms.

Since 1960, cosmetic changes have been made to the sketches while maintaining the basic composition. In addition, medals are now hung around the winner’s neck (before they had no special fasteners and were handed to athletes in their hands). Beginning with the Munich Olympics in 1972, the mandatory image requirements on the obverse were abolished.

In 2004 a new picture was developed for the front side of the medal – the goddess Nika walking in the Panathinaikos stadium, where the I Olympic Games were held.

The reverse shows the emblem of the competition.

Winter Olympic medals

There were no standard requirements for the design of White Olympics awards, so designers were given the opportunity to realize their boldest ideas. Of the most interesting medals from the Winter Olympics, these are worth highlighting:

Lake Placid-1932. The wavy shape of the medal symbolizes the base of an ancient Greek column. The location of the goddess Niki on top of the mountains creates an association with Olympus, further indicating the theme.

Grenoble-1968. For the first time, the reverse of the medal is dedicated to the discipline in which it was awarded. The sport was indicated not by a simple pictogram, but by an original design pattern.

Sapporo-1972. The first non-circular shaped medal since Paris 1900. The curved line on the obverse of the medal symbolizes the bobsleigh track, the oval symbolizes the ice track.

Sarajevo-1984. The medal is hammered into a smooth metal plate, protruding above the surface. The reverse features the original stylization of an athlete’s head in a laurel wreath.

Albertville-1992. The metal medal has an original crystal insert with relief engraving of mountain slopes and Olympic rings.

Lillehammer 1994. The medal is made of dark Norwegian granite and has a metal frame to match the medal’s dignity. The stone’s color structure is reminiscent of the northern lights in a snowy sky, indicating both the emblem of the Olympics and one of Norway’s major natural landmarks.

Nagano-1998. The medal is made using the traditional Japanese technique of “maki”: tiny gold particles are sprayed on the unfrozen lacquer. All awards are handmade, hence each of them is a unique work of art and is as unique as the athlete’s victory.

Salt Lake City 2002. Irregularly shaped medal with successful designs. On the obverse is the games slogan “Light the fire within you”, the engravings on the reverse were designed for each sport.

Torino 2006. The shape of the medal symbolizes the Italian market square, where festive events are traditionally held. The medal ribbon is passed through the ring and tied with a loop.

Vancouver 2010. The awards have a curved shape unique to each medal. The designers were inspired by the waves of the Pacific Ocean to develop such an original concept. The weight of each medal exceeds 500 grams.

Sochi 2014. The polycarbonate insert characterizes the cultural diversity of the peoples of Russia. The material also resembles ice, indicating the theme of the Olympics.

Olympic mascots

The Olympic mascot is the symbol with which the venue is associated. It is usually an animal or a character from a folk epic. The main function of the mascot is to reflect the spirit of the host country and enhance the festive atmosphere.

But the characters of the Olympic Games also have a more utilitarian role. As already mentioned, the Olympics are a costly and financially unprofitable event. Therefore, the host tries to recoup its investment as fully as possible. In addition to ticket sales and broadcast rights, as well as tourist revenue, the host country earns money from souvenirs. Therefore, the more interesting and cute the character is, the more merchandise with his image will be sold.

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The history of the first mascots

The first attempts to fill sports competitions with new content were made in 1968. At the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, a human skier named Schuss was introduced to the public. The character’s colors indicate the host country, the skis and Olympic rings create a tie-in to the theme.

This was also the year of the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the Red Jaguar was the mascot. This choice of the organizers is explained by the attempt to create a character based on a sculpture found during the excavations of the ancient Mayan capital of Chichen Itza. Overall the choice was well made, but the character didn’t get not only enough promotion for a mascot, but even a name. The jaguar was subsequently named Maya, but the time to capitalize sufficiently on its mascot was lost.

The third mascot and the first official one can be considered Waldi the dachshund. It was invented by the already mentioned Otl Eicher for the 1972 Olympics. During it the IOC session was held, where the mascot was approved as a mandatory attribute of the Olympic Games.

As for Valdi himself, the image of the dachshund symbolizes the inherent hunting qualities of the sportsman, such as speed, endurance and agility. The name of the mascot was also successfully chosen. In Germany, a dog with the nickname Waldi is as common as, for example, in Russia the cat Vaska or the dog Sharik. Wanting to make the character positive, Eicher intentionally doesn’t use all the Olympic colors in the character’s coloring.

The Munich mascot was liked by the audience, making it a commercial success. The preparatory work also contributed to its popularization. Valdi was the main character in a funny book published in the run-up to the Olympics, which featured sporting events.

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Sam and Izzy

Eagle Sam is considered the best example of using national symbols in an Olympic mascot. The character was drawn by Walt Disney Studios artists for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The image contains the basic national symbolism of the United States:

• the white eagle is featured on the coat of arms of the United States. This symbol is often used in brand logos and emblems of various events;
• the symbolism of the national flag is displayed in the mascot’s clothes;
• the cylinder, sideburns and name were borrowed from Uncle Sam, the personified image of the United States.

While this mascot was a big hit with audiences, Izzy, the symbol of the 1996 Atlanta Games, is considered the worst Olympic character ever. His image was computer generated and finalized by designers. It was impossible to answer the question of what this creature was, so the mascot was given the name Izzy – short for “What is it?”. (“What is it?”).

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The organizers of the Olympics expected that this question would arouse interest in the character, but the audience strongly rejected such a concept. Among the main claims about the mascot are the following:

1. There is a complete absence of the territorial reference that Olympic fans are accustomed to – Izzy does not evoke associations with either the host country or the city of Atlanta. The hint of a connection to the United States was supposed to be the character’s coloring and the stars in his eyes, but this symbol was not read by the audience.
2. The Olympic rings were supposed to tie in with the theme of the event, but the logic of using them on the mascot is unclear. Rings symbolizing Australia and Europe are worn over the eyes, similar to the sweatbands used by athletes. But the fact that the rest of the rings are worn on the tail drew negative reactions from people from Africa, Asia and the Americas.
3. In addition, if you pay attention to Izzy’s soft toy, you can notice red wristbands on his arms and legs. Apparently, the designers wanted to add red to the other colors of the U.S. national flag – blue and white. But visually, these wristbands are perceived as additional Olympic rings, which begs the question: why are there five American rings and one each for the other continents? That said, the mascot’s sneakers are colored purple, not associated with either the Olympics or the United States.

A remedy would be to use, for example, the black and yellow rings as wristbands on the arms and the red ring as a belt. And provide the colors of the national flag with red sneakers.

The character’s name reads “easy,” ie. “light, easy.” There is a clear contradiction with the sports theme here, as competitions and victories are not easy. In addition, looking at the walking mascot, the expression “easy going” is suggested, which can be translated as “Izzy goes” and “easy minded”.

The latter obviously characterizes the attitude of the organizers to the development of the Olympics corporate character, who as a result lost a large share of profit from the sale of souvenir products.

Izzy was most successfully criticized by the creators of the animated series The Simpsons. In one episode, Homer creates a mascot for the Springfield Olympics, Springy (“spring” means spring). In the first minute of the video, you can hear him explain his concept, “It’s a good toy for the whole family, and the pointy ends protect our nation and its interests.”

Olympic Bear and Wigri

The mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympics is an example of successful use of the character for image purposes.

The Olympic Bear was usually depicted running with a torch (a symbol of sports competitions) or with a bouquet and medals (a symbol of awarding winners). The Olympic binding was provided by a weightlifting belt (a hint of the mascot’s strength) of five Olympic colors with a buckle in the shape of rings.

Let’s return to the question of the image function of the character. One of the areas of the Cold War was information warfare. On propaganda posters of NATO countries, the Soviet Union was often depicted as a grinning bear. The Moscow Olympics were ignored by most Western countries because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Therefore, the Olympic Bear corresponded to the ideological goals in the best possible way: the image of an aggressive, belligerent bear gave way to a good-natured, hospitable bear with flowers. Such a symbol was an apt backdrop for Soviet propaganda messages, in which the USSR positioned itself as a peace-loving state.

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For the first time in history, a special mascot has been developed for an individual Olympic sport. Sailing competitions were held in Tallinn, and the Chamber of Commerce of the Estonian SSR announced a competition to create an Olympic character. The winner was Saima Symer, who proposed the seal Vigri as the mascot.

Olly, Syd & Millie

In 2000 at the Sydney Olympics, three characters became official mascots for the first time.

1. Olly (short for Olympics, tying in with the theme) is a cockabar bird. Symbolizes the sky. Also embodies the Olympic spirit, kindness, generosity and cheerful disposition.
2. Syd (short for Sydney, linking to the host city) is a platypus. Water symbol. The embodiment of energy, strength and the drive to win.
3. Millie (short for Millenium, tying in with the date of the Games) is an echidna. Symbolizes the earth. The image embodied diligence, optimism, movement into the future and advanced technology.

Thus, the organizers managed to put several different meanings into the images of the mascots at once. In addition, all the animals listed are endemics, i.e.. they’re only found in Australia. This creates an additional territorial connection and adds a unique flavor to the Olympics.

Want to make souvenir products based on your logo or branded character? Specialists of branding agency KOLORO will qualitatively perform this work – from 3D-visualization based on your brandbook or sketches to printing a 3D model.

Also making its first appearance at the Sydney Games is the “anti-mascot” wombat (a marsupial animal resembling a hamster) Fatso. Australian cartoonist Paul Newel created him as a character opposing Ollie, Sid and Millie. The mascots in these battles had to demonstrate their qualities and character traits in order to be better remembered by the audience. However, this anti-hero was so well-liked by the public and athletes that Fatso’s soft toys became hugely popular, and the character himself even developed fan clubs all over Australia.

Haakon & Kristin

The organizers of the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer made the heroes of the Norwegian epic – Hakon and Kristin – mascots. The brother and sister figures dressed in medieval folk costumes piqued the interest of the audience. The organizers of the Olympic Games made these images more touching by inviting children to play the role of characters.

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The concept and design of the images were so successful that Haakon and Kristin became some of the most commercially successful mascots in the history of the Olympics. In addition, the images embodied all the positive traits of Norwegians, which increased the country’s tourist appeal.

Awards and mascot for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics

Medals

Diagonal lines of engraving symbolize speed and dynamics. On the obverse, the stripes are directed downward from left to right, which evokes an association with a speedy descent; on the reverse, they are upward from right to left, indicating upward movement, striving for high results.

Talisman

The character is the white tiger Soohorang (Suhorang), which in Korean traditional culture symbolizes strength, trust and protection. The name of the mascot literally translates to “protecting tiger”.

The choice of such a character for the Games was also influenced by the fact that the Korean Peninsula, according to locals, resembles a tiger.

The color of the character creates a tie-in to the Winter Olympics.

What makes the Olympics memorable, besides colorful sporting events and new records? First and foremost is the logo and mascot. The last one is even bigger. The positive qualities of a character with a noticeable territorial attachment are transferred to some extent to the host country and its population.

A quality brand plays a similar role in business. It forms an attitude towards a product or service and fixes it in the minds of the audience. Specialists of KOLORO bredin agency will choose a laconic and memorable name for your trademark based on the research of your market segment, develop an effective logo and corporate identity, as well as provide services for trademark registration in domestic and international markets.