The scoop: The Paris Olympics mascot was once hated. Now he’s loved.

Few stars at this year’s Paris Olympics have experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat like Phryge, the Games’ official mascot.

When it was first unveiled last year, the design of Phryge (pronounced freej), the French people had a lukewarm response at best to the red plush of a character designed to represent the Phrygian cap, an important symbol of liberty during the French Revolution.

However, this concept did not initially resonate with local residents. national survey in France Last year, it was found that only 46% of respondents understood what the 2024 mascot represented, with “childish” being one of the most common descriptions.

Despite these initial expectations, Phryge’s popularity has grown as the games have progressed since the July 26 opening ceremony.

“A lot of people don’t know exactly what it is,” said Edouard Bardon, director of licensing and retail for the Paris Games, The New York Times“What they know is that it’s an Olympic symbol and they buy Phryge merchandise for their loved ones or for themselves to show that they were at the Games.”

Why it matters: It’s amazing what a few billion eyeballs and A little positive energy can do a brand some good.

Despite his poor deployment, Phryge has become a constant and ever-present element during games.

The Paris Olympic Committee stuck with the concept. It didn’t let the disappointing reactions stop it. It believed that travelers and participants would eventually be overwhelmed by Olympic fever and would want to take home an original souvenir.

Organizers expect global sales of licensed mascot toys to reach 2 billion euros, according to the New York Times article.

As the NYT reports:

Phryge, a living mascot, beckons selfie-hungry fans, animated by dancers and skilled students in an inflatable costume rickety enough to require an escort. Phryge’s message, streamed to nearly a billion homes around the world watching the Olympics, has cemented his celebrity.

Sure, the success of Phryge and the Olympics is unique; not every brand can benefit from multi-billion dollar marketing campaigns and TV exposure. But it’s a sign that just because you’re not getting the initial return you wanted, doesn’t mean you should throw it all away and start over.

For most people, Phryge may never be a representation of French liberty. But this red stain has become an endearing symbol of an experience that only happens once every two years.

What more could you ask for in a mascot?

Editor’s Top Reads:

• A third person has died after eating Boar’s Head cold cuts contaminated with listeria. Since July, At least 43 people have been hospitalized due to the nationwide outbreak of food poisoning linked to more than 70 Boar’s Head products. The Virginia company’s initial recall began July 25. “No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep pain we feel for the families who have suffered loss and others who have endured illness,” the Virginia company wrote on its Twitter account. website as part of a long, fact-rich article from July 30the day the recall expanded. Boar’s Head published Similar posts on social media on the same daystressing that “the health and safety of its customers” was its primary concern. Since then, the company has remained silent on the matter, likely in part because it is facing at least three lawsuits related to the matter. While it tends to lean in and respond to every comment and headline, the hard truth is that there is little the company can do to defend its brand reputation at this point. Instead, the company is using its social channels to provide information updates and public health messages focused on public well-being, as it should.
• After days of back-and-forth on social media, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have finally agreed to terms for a formal debate, set for Sept. 10 on ABC. Trump said Thursday a willingness to participate in two more debates, but nothing is set in stone. Harris went to X expresses excitement that Trump has ‘finally’ committed to debate her. The debate will offer potential voters the first real opportunity to hear the two candidates grapple in real time with foreign policy, economic and social issues. Having watched President Joe Biden spar with Trump earlier this summer, both candidates know how much of an impact a debate can have on the trajectory of an election. Perhaps just as importantly, this face-to-face encounter will allow the country to see how Harris and Trump engage in person. The two men have traded plenty of barbs online and in the media since Harris accepted the Democratic nomination. Harris has touted her record as a prosecutor against Trump, now a convicted felony offender. The comparison between her courtroom style and Trump’s brash, off-the-cuff style will be a study in contrasts that will surely help voters make their final decision.
• Apple has announced a newly revised compliance plan to address the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, and not everyone is happy about it. Spotify and Epic Games have both expressed concern — and even anger — over Apple’s revised plans, which ease restrictions and add additional fees for iOS developers in Europe, according to TechCrunch. “In the European Union, where the new DMA law opens up competition between app stores, Apple is continuing its malicious compliance by imposing a new illegal 15% tax on users who migrate to competing stores and monitoring commerce on those competing stores,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney wrote on X. Spotify called the policy “deliberately confusing” in a company statement obtained by TechCrunch. Is Apple intentionally trying to muddy the waters? Or is he exercising extreme caution to propose a new deal that adheres to the exact letter of the law while preserving as much value as possible for shareholders? That depends on the observer. The real audience in this case is not the general public, but the EU regulators and lawmakers who have recently shown little patience for Big Tech’s shenanigans. They will be the real arbiters of how this scheme plays out.

Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.

COMMENT