“Laughing Panda” fever sweeps through China

Chinese citizens and tourists flock to buy the Beijing Winter Olympics mascot “Ping Don Don”, which is a panda wearing a ski suit, in a phenomenon that exceeded expectations and surprised its designer. And some began looking to buy this amulet on the black market for an amount of 28 euros, because the quantity in Chinese stores ran out. Cao Shui, head of the design team for the Bing Don Don mascot, did not expect this success. “With the opening of the Olympics, I expected people to buy it, but not to be very popular overnight,” stressing that “it has become phenomenon”. “Each of the 14 designers kept one amulet as a souvenir,” he joked. In recent days, we think maybe we should have kept more!”

The start of the Winter Olympics on February 4 coincided with the Lunar New Year holiday in China and the closure of all factories in the country, with the result that stores ran out of stock. Some took advantage of the shortage to resell the amulet at double prices, up to 10 times its official price, at a time when the police warned of fraud through social media, where sellers disappear following receiving the money. Head of the design team, Cao Shui, recalled the fine details that accompanied the design of the mascot, and the ideas that were put forward during the workshop. “We made tens of thousands of drawings, and spent seven months designing and modifying it all,” he says. And for a while, we even gave up on the idea of ​​drawing a panda. Because there were many panda drawings in the past…». But he added: “In the end, for our team and the Games Organizing Committee, we thought the panda was the best possible option.” The design team anchored the laughing panda mascot, which was dressed up in a kind of transparent astronaut outfit resembling ice… or a protective suit, useful in times of pandemic. The fever of the panda mascot is sweeping the communication sites, with the enthusiasm increasing to the extent that some share videos of mascots, ravioli or rice cakes from home-made bearing the image of “Bing Don Don”. Faced with high demand for the mascot, Olympic organizers promised to speed up production, while local media broadcast reports showing workers working overtime in factories. “When I see all these people in Beijing braving the cold for hours and queuing, it’s not just regarding buying a rigid toy,” Cao Shui said. “What they come to look for is something they hold in their hands and give them some warmth.”