Monday, January 19, 2015

Oregon Ducks fans reject mascot redesign

The University of Oregon decided that their cute duck mascot named "Puddles" (left) needed to be redesigned to look more cool and athletic.

Gone were the googly eyes and the pot belly. The new duck was more muscular, with reptilian scales and a streamlined head that resembled a biker's helmet. The official name of the rebranded character was "Mandrake," but everyone called him "Roboduck."

But Roboduck didn't charm the fans. He scared kids, and people started pushing him around. So they retired Roboduck and quietly went back to Puddles.
-----
Wall Street Journal: "Fans Found University of Oregon’s Muscular Mascot a Lame Duck."

at

12 comments:

  1. Cory DeVoreJanuary 19, 2015 at 10:05 AM

    Haha! This is hilarious! And makes me proud of humanity a bit too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. David WebbJanuary 19, 2015 at 10:06 AM

    A phrase springs to mind which, I believe, is common to both the UK and USA...
    'why fix it if it ain't broke'.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JacquelineJanuary 19, 2015 at 11:34 AM

    Man. I wish Vanderbilt would take a page out of Oregon's book and go back to the old Mr. Commodore.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RocaJanuary 19, 2015 at 12:28 PM

    Cute mascots are underrated. Hundreds of businesses used to have them selling their products. Not sure why they have been mostly retired. They aren't just for kid appeal, remember the Disney-designed nose art in WWII? I specialize in these type cartoon designs, wish they would come back.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Warren JBJanuary 19, 2015 at 4:30 PM

    One word springs to mind: 'Poochie'.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnnieJanuary 19, 2015 at 7:02 PM

    Well, I like the new one a LOT better; but then I am not a sports fan either.

    ReplyDelete
  7. K_tigressJanuary 19, 2015 at 11:19 PM

    I had the same feelings with Super Man and the Flash when they came out with the "new more modern look" for the movies and shows. To me those guys aren't the good guys any more. They are the evil doppelganger of their former selves. They pretty much reflect the thinking of society as a whole. A big shame!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Laura McD.January 19, 2015 at 11:27 PM

    I can see why people reacted poorly, it looks like a character from Kamen Rider and a character from Loonatics Unleashed got smashed together. A fun design, but not very endearing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sergio LopezJanuary 20, 2015 at 2:28 AM

    Haha @Warren JB

    ReplyDelete
  10. Robert J. SimoneJanuary 20, 2015 at 8:09 AM

    Roboduck was squashed by a Buckeye!

    ReplyDelete
  11. markmorsJanuary 20, 2015 at 11:38 PM

    The new one looks like an evil alien or something out of a bad sci-fi movie.

    ReplyDelete
  12. TeganFebruary 23, 2015 at 2:06 AM

    I'm pretty sure the motivation for this was intellectual property law. Disney thought the mascot was too close to Donald Duck, and sued them over it -- the team agreed not to sell any merchandise with the mascot outside of the state of Oregon. So they were probably looking to get rid of that problem.

    ReplyDelete

Due to a high level of spam we must moderate comments. Please identify yourself by name or social media handle so we know you're not a 'bot.'