Before learning the history of Esquire, I had never hear of their famed little mascot Esky. What an interesting concept for a magazine to have. In the earlier decades of the publication I assume Esky helped to build some brand recognition. Who doesn't love a mascot? A loyal sidekick of the home team. It was to learn about Esky, because it reminded me of my high school newspaper. For some reason my senior year we decided to include our own mascot -- a yard gnome, Jonah. He would show up randomly on a page every month. Tragically he died though in a dancing mishap during Mr. Jaguar, the male beauty pageant the newspaper puts on to raise money. The story of Esky brought me back to my own yesteryears.
I also love Esky. Like you said, it is great for brand recognition. On another level, mascots can give a magazine a sense of continuity and reflection of its mission/personality. I find Esky very personable and fun. It would become overkill if he was on every cover though. From the presentations on Tuesday, it looked like they found some very creative ways to incorporate him in.
ReplyDeleteI love Esky! I think he's great. I knew nothing about him until the presentations the other day and I think it was such fun item to share. He has this creepy/fun face that makes me giggle. Good add.
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