Advertising, ad campaigns, ad agencies, and the people that make it happen

I’m not quite sure why most International sporting events seem to have to have a “Mascot.” But maybe that’ll change with the news out of Germany via Der Spiegel that "Goleo", the official mascot of the 2006 World Cup, has proved the undoing of German toymaker Nici, as the company has filed for insolvency because no one’s buying the stuffed toy versions of the football-crazy lion. "The loveable lion", as football's world body Fifa describes it, has had a mixed response since he was introduced in late 2004. Designed by Jim Henson Company, of Muppet and Sesame Street fame, the clumsy looking figure looks a bit like Big Bird. It’s also been ridiculed for not wearing any shorts. World Cup mascots have had a chequered history since the tradition began in 1966 with "World Cup Willy", a lion introduced for the tournament in England. Seems to me that if someone had the brains to design a giant stuffed pint of beer it would have a lot more “Fan Appeal!”

We'll have two pints and     two packets of crisps!