World Cup Willie was the game’s first mascot in 1966. Forty years on, we have another – Goleo VI. So what’s the secret to mascot success?
Mascots are the cute and merchandisable face of the game. They are a product of the culture and country from which they are born. Often, they have been most like cartoon caricatures of the host country: Mexico used sombrero-wearing boy Juanito in 1970, and sombrero-wearing Pique the chilli pepper in 1986. In recent years, technology has changed things a little: for Korea/Japan 2002, the mascots were 3D CGI.
But there’s an altogether different problems trying to sell a mascot in today’s world: cynicism. That’s certainly the case with the 2006 mascot, Goleo VI. The German press has had its knives out for the poor Jim Henson Creature Shop creation. Criticism has ranged from the fact that lions have nothing to do with Germany, through to the fact that Goleo doesn’t wear trousers.
More tellingly, the company with the licence to sell Goleo VI, Niki, has gone bankrupt. It’s a million miles away from the first German mascots, a pair of ‘buddies’ called Tip & Tap.
Will South Africa 2010 have a mascot? We hope so!
