Mascot

It was initially sports organizations that first thought of using animals as a form of mascot to bring entertainment and excitement for their spectators.[2] Before mascots were fictional icons or people in suits, animals were mostly used in order to bring a somewhat different feel to the game and to strike fear upon the rivalry teams.

As time went on, mascots evolved from predatory animals, to two-dimensional fantasy mascots, to finally what we know today, three-dimensional mascots. Stylistic changes in American puppetry in the mid-20th century, including the work of Jim Henson and Sid and Marty Krofft, soon were adapted to sports mascots. It allowed people to not only have visual enjoyment but also interact physically with the mascots.

Marketers quickly realized the great potential in three-dimensional mascots and took on board the costumed puppet idea. This change encouraged other companies to start creating their own mascots, resulting in mascots being a necessity amongst not only the sporting industry but for other organisations.[3][4]

The word 'mascot' originates from the French term 'mascotte' which means lucky charm. This was used to describe anything that brought luck to a household. The word was first recorded in 1867 and popularised by a French composer Edmond Audran who wrote the opera La mascotte, performed in December 1880. The word entered the English language in 1881 with the meaning of a specific living entity associated with a human organization as a symbol or live logo. However, before this, the terms were familiar to the people of France as a slang word used by gamblers. The term is a derivative of the word 'masco' meaning sorceress or witch. Before the 19th century, the word 'mascot' was associated with inanimate objects that would be commonly seen such as a lock of hair or a figurehead on a sailing ship. From then to the twentieth century, the term has been used in reference to any good luck animals, objects etc., and more recently including human caricatures and fictional creatures created as logos for sports teams. [3][5]

The San Diego Chicken, portrayed by Ted Giannoulas, was a staple in the San Diego area during the 1970s and 80s. On the right is United States President Ronald Reagan at a campaign stop in San Diego during the 1988 election.

University of Miami mascot Sebastian the Ibis makes the University of Miami's signature "The U" hand gesture, December 2007

Often the choice of mascot reflects the desired quality; a typical example of this is the "fighting spirit," in which a competitive nature is personified by warriors or predatory animals.

Mascots may also symbolize a local or regional trait, such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers' mascot, Herbie Husker: a stylized version of a farmer, owing to the agricultural traditions of the area in which the university is located. Similarly, Pittsburg State University uses Gus the Gorilla as its mascot, "gorilla" being an old colloquial term for coal miners in the Southeast Kansas area in which the university was established.[6]

In the United States, controversy[7] surrounds some mascot choices, especially those using human likenesses. Mascots based on Native American tribes are particularly contentious, as many argue that they constitute offensive exploitations of an oppressed culture.[8] However, several Indian tribes have come out in support of keeping the names. For example, the Utah Utes and the Central Michigan Chippewas are sanctioned by local tribes, and the Florida State Seminoles are supported by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in their use of Osceola and Renegade as symbols. FSU chooses not to refer to them as mascots because of the offensive connotation.[9] This has not, however, prevented fans from engaging in "Redface"—dressing up in stereotypical, Plains Indian outfits during games, or creating offensive banners saying "Scalp 'em" as was seen at the 2014 Rose Bowl.[10]

Some sports teams have "unofficial" mascots: individual supporters or fans that have become identified with the team. The New York Yankees have such an individual in fan Freddy Sez. Former Toronto Blue Jays mascot BJ Birdie was a costumed character created by a Blue Jays fan, ultimately hired by the team to perform at their home games. USC Trojans mascot is Tommy Trojan who rides on his horse (and the official mascot of the school) Traveler.

Boomer Beaver (photographed in 2007) was the mascot for the Portland Beavers, a now-defunct Minor League Baseball team.

Many sports teams in the United States have official mascots, sometimes enacted by costumed humans or even live animals. One of the earliest was a taxidermy mount for the Chicago Cubs, in 1908, and later a live animal used in 1916 by the same team. They abandoned the concept shortly thereafter and remained without an official "cub" until 2014, when they introduced a version that was a person wearing a costume.[11]

In the United Kingdom, some teams have young fans become "mascots". These representatives sometimes have medical issues, and the appearance is a wish grant,[12] the winner of a contest,[13] or under other circumstances. Mascots also include older people such as Mr England, who are invited by national sports associations to be mascots for the representative teams.[14] One of the earliest was Ken Baily, whose John Bull-inspired appearance was a regular at England matches from 1963[15] to 1990.[16]

Rooster is the mascot for a company in Croatia

Mascots or advertising characters are very common in the corporate world. Recognizable mascots include Chester Cheetah, Keebler Elf, the Fruit of the Loom Guys, Mickey Mouse, Pizza Pizza Guy for Little Caesars, Rocky the Elf, the Coca-Cola Bear and the NBC Peacock. These characters are typically known without even having to refer to the company or brand. This is an example of corporate branding, and soft selling a company. Mascots are able to act as brand ambassadors where advertising is not allowed. For example, many corporate mascots can attend non-profit events, or sports and promote their brand while entertaining the crowd. Some mascots are simply cartoons or virtual mascots, others are characters in commercials, and others are actually created as costumes and will appear in person in front of the public at tradeshows or events.[18]

American high schools, colleges, and even middle and elementary schools typically have mascots. Many college and university mascots started out as live animals such as bulldogs and bears that attended sporting events. Today, mascots are usually represented by animated characters, campus sculptures, and costumed students who attend sporting events, alumni gatherings, and other campus events.

Soohorang (left) and Bandabi (right) were the mascots for the 2018 Winter Olympics and 2018 Winter Paralympics, respectively, in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The mascots that are used for the Summer and Winter Olympic games are fictional characters, typically a human figure or an animal native to the country to which is holding that year's Olympic Games. The mascots are used to entice an audience and bring joy and excitement to the Olympics festivities. Likewise, many World expositions since 1984 have had mascots representing their host city in some way, starting with the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition's mascot Seymore D. Fair.

Since 1968, nearly all of the cities that have hosted the Summer or Winter Olympic Games have designed and promoted a mascot that relates to the culture of the host country the overall "brand" of that year's Games. Recent Winter/Summer Olympic games mascots include Miga, Quatchi, Mukmuk (Vancouver, 2010), Wenlock and Mandeville (London, 2012), Bely Mishka, Snow Leopard, Zaika (Sochi, 2014) and Vinicius and Tom (Rio, 2016) have all gone on to become iconic symbols in their respective countries.[19] Since 2010, it has been common for the Olympic and Paralympic games to each have their own mascots, which are presented together. For example, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo is represented by Miraitowa, while the 2020 Summer Paralympics are represented by Someity, and the two often appear together in promotional materials.

Some bands, particularly in the heavy metal genre, use band mascots to promote their music. The mascots are usually found on album covers or merchandise such as band T-shirts, but can also make appearances in live shows or music videos. One example of a band mascot is Eddie of the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Eddie is a zombie-like creature which is personified in different forms on all of the band's albums, most of its singles and some of its promotional merchandise. Eddie is also known to make live appearances, especially during the song "Iron Maiden".

Another notable example of a mascot in music is Skeleton Sam of The Grateful Dead. South Korean hip hop band B.A.P uses rabbits named Matoki as their mascot, each bunny a different color representing each member. Although rabbits have an innocent image, BAP gives off a tough image. Hip hop artist Kanye West used to use a teddy bear named Dropout Bear as his mascot; Dropout Bear has appeared on the cover of West's first three studio albums, and served as the main character of West's music video, "Good Morning".

The question of whether a "hype-man" can legitimately be considered a hip-hop organization's mascot is currently an active subject of debate within academic Hip-Hop circles. However, local polling in relevant regions suggests acceptance of the "hype-man" as a legitimate organizational mascot.

Some television series have mascots, like the Cleatus the Robot animated cartoon figure on the U.S. sports television show Fox NFL Sunday.

Another example of a cartoon mascot on television is the Sir Seven knight character on Wisconsin's WSAW-TV.

• Amulet
• Car mascot
• Fursuit
• List of mascots (college, computing, commercial, sports, public-service, television and movie, computer and video games, political parties)
• Lucky charm
• Mascot Hall of Fame
• National emblem, National personification, National animals
• Player escort, children accompanying football players also sometimes called mascots
• Talisman
• Totem
• Costume

Wikimedia Commons has media related to mascots.

• Mascot Database – the searchable team name database
• List of Free and Open Source software mascots
• Benefits of Brand Mascots in Business
• Benefits of Mascot Designs in Brand Recognition
• Unique University Mascots and The History Behind Them at The History Tavern