Ok, so 2008 was more than that, lots of stuff happened. Bad stuff, good stuff, new stuff etc. But all of that will be covered by lots of people everywhere talking about the state of China after so many huge events (snow storms, riots, earthquake, Olympics, milk powder...)
For me though, one of the under reported aspects of 2008 was the presence of really badly designed mascots.
The Fuwa – the five mascots for the Olympics – have been around for a good while, not just this year, and they were pretty annoying. But nothing compares to the guy who's increasingly becoming more visible around Shanghai everyday: Hai Bao.
"Treasure of the sea," as his name translates, is a big, blue, smiling tooth-shaped character who is the image of the 2010 World Expo to be held in Shanghai. Apparently he's meant to be the shape of the Chinese character ren, meaning person. But i don't see it. To me, he's a big blue tooth with a weird quiff.
According to the official website for the expo, Hai Bao "is the good well ambassador of Shanghai Expo. He is embracing friends from all over the world with his arms and confident smile."
Mmhm.
Monday 3 November 2008
2008: the year of annoying mascots
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When I was in Shanghai last time and I saw that HaiBao in the streets and department stores, I heard myself thinking, "what the XXXX is that?"
ReplyDeleteNow I got it: it is a tooth!