Summer 2019

Mascot Remix: How a university rebranding became an LA-style makeover

In our line of work, we never know what to expect. And I have to admit, I did not expect to spend [a year] thinking about Eddie the Eagle. 

When we teamed up with Cal State Los Angeles to re-brand, position and launch a new identity for the University, we knew the project would require a depth of connection beyond the typical agency/client partnership. It would mean immersing ourselves in the university’s culture, faculty, students and athletics to build a cohesive brand system that spoke to their history in Los Angeles but was also entirely new. So, as the 360 project neared completion, we felt the kind of satisfaction that comes from being deeply engaged with something bigger than yourself. 

The university liked how our new logo for Cal State LA, the Golden Eagle, expressed their community’s fierceness, but the logo no longer looked like their beloved athletic mascot. The university tasked us with a request: to take what we’d developed for the university brand and make Eddie the fit, fierce fighter we all knew she could be.

Of course we said yes. But making a new mascot is way more complicated than it sounds—and it never sounded easy.  

We approached this like we do any new area of interest for the agency: with crazy amounts of research. That put us in touch with a master mascot craftsman. To get us started, we teamed up with a local sewing and construction company to test out our initial 3D concept by building a mini model, also known as a “plush.” It  came out just as we imagined it.

That meant it was time to send our new plush Eddie the Eagle, along with architectural drawings and sizing requirements, to our new partners so they could craft it all together. We jumped at the opportunity to work with their team on all the details, meticulously picking out the colors, fabric, fit and style for every inch on the uniform. 

A mascot’s head is crucial. When we originally designed it as an athletics logo, we worked with the client for a year to make the mark perfect for them. There were so many details and Easter eggs in the mark, we knew we needed to build those into Eddie’s head. So, we added a pitchfork, flames, and made sure the spirit in Eddie’s eyes became ingrained into the final uniform. 

Before we started the project, we all knew that a mascot moves around a lot. Well, designing Eddie the Eagle gave us a whole new appreciation for how much “a lot” actually is. Eddie’s body had to be flexible enough that it could morph to the person inside it but agile enough to accommodate their movement. We built it out of condensed foam, strategically hid vents around its circumference, and rigged up a light weight fan system to keep air flowing.

Along with having to accommodate the wearer’s movement, every mascot needs an air ventilation system. As the mascot runs around, that means the wearer’s going to get out of breath. Also, they’re going to get sweaty. We built a custom cooling system for the internal structure of the body, keeping the fitted housing lightweight for maximum movement.  We had a mascot completed and was on its way to us. We were ready to see our plans played out on a grand scale.

But - you know how it feels when you look in the mirror the day after Thanksgiving? That’s how Eddie looked. She wasn’t the agile, athletic eagle that would drive a crowd to their feet. She looked much too comfortable for our fierce fighter. 

We went back to our sketches, and that’s when we saw it: the skeleton. We had built the frame to be flexible, but we’d missed how wide it would make it around the midsection. 

This gave us a great idea. We launched with the first Eddie, comfortable figure and all. Press, events, games, and hanging out on campus with the students. A video was produced showing the evolution of the old mascot, starting with a ‘Los Angeles’ style makeover at a barbershop in DTLA. Everyone loved the new Eddie. At last came the reveal; we switched our first version of the mascot body for the final form. The story followed naturally—Eddie the Eagle had gotten into peak athletic shape to promote a healthy new future for the University body. 

We always think about embracing the adventure; one of our core values. So is giving that extra bit of delight. The truth is, even if we follow our plans to a T, it may turn out that some completely unexpected part of the process will become exactly what puts a project over the top.