Media Watch -- London 2012 Mascot Reaction

(ATR) Wenlock and Mandeville might have the love of school children but are receiving scathing feedback around the world. They have been compared to Smurfs, Teletubbies and cyclops.

The London Times asks: "does anybody like the London 2012 mascots?" According to the comments on the Times Web site, not many people do.

Design critic Stephen Bayley calls the mascots "rubbish" in The Daily Telegraph, and compares them to "Smurfs for the iPhone generation." BrandInstinct’s Aaron Shields says the designers "ended up piling on too many layers of meaning and they have forgotten who these characters were supposed to be for."

Wenlock and Mandeville made their world debut on BBC television but that is not stopping criticism from the BBC staff.Robbo Robson writes that the mascots have "that cutesy thing going on, like in Gremlins. Any moment now the little aliens are going to jump on to your earlobe and suck your brain dry." To see video of public reaction to the mascot from the BBC, click here.

Writing for The Guardian, Jonathan Glancey calls the mascots "part CCTV, all cash cow". A commenter at The Guardian's Web site writes: "I, for one, welcome our new one-eyed overlords. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted university researcher I could be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves".

Reuters, in its report on the mascots’ unveiling said the duo is "not so cute".

The Associated Press’ Nancy Armour said the mascots could be the weirdest mascots ever—even more than Atlanta’s mascot Izzy. "Just when you thought nothing could top Atlanta's Izzy when it came to weirdness, meet Wenlock and Mandeville, a pair of one-eyed, amoeba-ish, goofy-looking ... oh, I don't even know what they are. Certainly not what you want hanging around your house for the next two years."

Parody drawings of the mascots appeared on the internet just hours after the launch of Wenlock and Mandeville. Some pictures compare the mascots to politicians David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

The Daily Mail tries to determine whether the inspiration for the mascots is from Sonic the Hedgehog or Mike from the movie "Monsters Inc."

Canada is having the "last laugh with terrifying Brit Olympic mascots", according to Toronto’s The Globe and Mail.

The Vancouver Sun is enjoying the backlash against Wenlock and Mandeville following British criticism of the 2010 Winter Games. The newspaper collected Twitter feedback against the mascots. A Twitter user tweeted: "just seen the new Olympic mascots. I love them for all the wrong reasons. They look like murderous cycloptic Teletubbies."

CTV reports that many compare the mascots to Teletubbies or to phallic symbols. CTV wonders whether the focus groups should have included immature teenagers instead of just school children.

Gawker imagines how the designers came up "creepy" characters. Perhaps the designers were drunk, Gawker teased.

Matt Stroup of Universal Sports writes that the mascots are out of this world but not in a good way. He pleads "someone please inform this youth that these two Cyclops have not come to our planet for nefarious purposes."

Compiled by ATR Staff. .

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