Students could also compete to create mobile games and apps that use Cy in various imaginative ways and split the revenue with Iowa State.Ĭollege sports are full of amazing, goofy traditions and Cy could use some more of his own. Cy would be a natural fit for children to learn about the various schools of Iowa State and possibly a future career.
Mandrake oregon ducks mascot series#
As a child, The Magic School Bus book series introduced me to fascinating topics. Imagine an animated series in the vein of DuckTales or Phineas and Ferb, where Cy travels through time to explore science and technology stories.īooks are another way to extend his appeal. Developing his personality further as a lovable underdog, not difficult given Iowa State's historical futility in sports, creates a marketable character to be deployed throughout various media.įollowing the legacy of WOI-TV, Iowa State should create a new media school that combines the best aspects of journalism and design to use Cy as the face of Iowa State University. Iowa State could become the first school to fully realize the transition from a thin mascot created to sell merchandise into an avatar for the university as a whole.īy using Cy in various innovative ways, children from all over the world could be introduced to the Iowa State difference with him as their tour guide. Those children grow up to be consumers and influencers of a new generation, parents passing down stories to their little ones. Just look at the pleasing face here, which serves as a jumping point for a refined, timeless look.Ĭompanies spend millions of dollars to capture the imagination of children from their earliest days with lovable characters. Unlike other schools who overcompensate by toughening up their meek mascots with the clear and the cream, Cy should have no issue being the lovable sidekick to a massive tornado that terrifyingly blots out the sky with lightning and thunder. In recent years, Oregon's new duck logo maintains the same goofy charm of their mascot with nary any attitude to be found. In 2002, when Oregon tried trotting out Mandrake, their insanely muscular and futuristic duck mascot, the backlash caused him to fizzle away after just a year. Oregon famously used Donald Duck as their mascot for decades due to a personal friendship between Walt Disney and the Oregon athletic director. Billions of dollars later, appeal matters. Just look at Mickey Mouse, the affable rodent that launched an empire with little more than his round face and some pluck. Studies have found people subconsciously prefer soft, organic shapes to blocky edges. Villains are often drawn with sharp angles and rigid lines. Through animation history, the most likable, timeless characters are full of flowing round shapes that appeal to all ages. The current look continued some aspects, while introducing a secondary oval head logo that immediately recalled outdated ABC and ESPN oval logos from fifteen years ago. His head became an aggressive wedge and feathers became spikes. The new Cy logo saw him riding the world's smallest tornado, fist extended, attitude about to be delivered. In the 1990s, tradition was pitched out the window as sport mascots raced to keep up with a hyper society fueled by Surge and the X Games. Others prefer the older walking Cy with big yellow shoes. The 1980s leaning Cy logo is the only one to feature a natural bird with no dentures and the shape of the design is the closest to being timeless, just like the missing Cyclone logo that begs to be slightly updated. If we ignore the modern look, all previous Cy logos had a round head and more appealing features. I'm no statistician, but that can't be a good sign for the current logo. Hundreds of votes later, 80% voted in favor of the old versions. On Twitter last week, I asked Iowa State fans whether they preferred the new version of Cy or the old versions of Cy.
Years after this modern iteration of Cy was released, most fans still refuse to embrace the design. It probably has something to do with how irritated Cy looks, like he's walking out of Jack Trice Stadium after watching Iowa clobber Iowa State, only to find a parking ticket on his windshield. The current walking Cy logo that was released after the I-STATE logo has struggled to reach the same level of acceptance. The I-STATE logo, which never met a bevel it didn't love, took some time to become established as the primary athletic mark, but is now widely accepted by Iowa State fans. It can take years for new logos to gain acceptance, to worm their way into the warm memories of yore.
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