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MASCOT
Some brands have something that no one else does. We’re not talking about that certain something in their personality; we’re talking about an actual physical feature, probably trademarked. It’s one of those effective parts of a brand identity that people recognise and say immediately, “I know that, it’s a…” and can give you the brand name.
The idea Rolls Royce has the Spirit of Ecstasy, designed by Charles Robinson Sykes and used from 1911. Car emblems which stuck up from the bonnet, like Jaguar’s jaguar and Mercedes’ roundel, were banned for safety reasons, but allowed back as long as they can retract instantly. They were such an important part of brand identity that some car manufacturers went developed the technology necessary the technology to get their emblems back. The Spirit of Ecstasy wasn’t an oringal Rolls Royce feature. The fashion was to have your own emblem made to personalise your vehicle. Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, John Walter Edward DouglasScott-Montagu, asked his friend Sykes, recently graduated from London’s Royal College of Art to design his mascot, and it’s believed to have been modelled on his secretary, mistress and love of his life, Eleanor Velasco Thornton. Charles Sykes described it as “a graceful little goddess, the Spirit of Ecstasy, who has selected road travel as her supreme delight
144 • 100 GREAT BRANDING IDEAS
100 Great Branding Ideas 14dec.indd 144
12/14/11 11:14 AM
