Olympic mascots spark commercial blitz
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-11-15 17:23

The five doll mascots of the 2008 summer Olympiad have undoubtedly sparked a commercial blitz in China, with companies vying to register domain names and launch new products bearing their names or images.

Let alone the white-hot retail market filled with cuddly toys, commemorative coins and stamps of the mascots, which are cartoon renditions of a panda, a carp, a Tibetan antelope, a swallow and the Olympic flame, each one the color of one of the Olympic rings.

A high-tech company has snatched the domain names "fuwabeibei.cn" and "fuwayingying.cn", while a flavor firm in Dalian has registered "fuwajingjing.cn", "fuwahuanhuan.cn" and "fuwanini.cn".

The five Olympic mascots Beijing unveiled on Friday are Bei Bei, Jing Jing, Huan Huan, Ying Ying and Ni Ni, which, put together, translates to "Beijing welcomes you!"

Experts with China Network Information Center said these domain names have massive potentials for revaluation.

Lenovo, the world's third largest PC manufacturer, has started to "show off" some of its privileges as the global partner of the International Olympic Committee. On the same day the Olympic mascots were unveiled, the personal computer giant launched 10 sets of commemorative flash disks, each containing five dainty disks with the mascots.

Company sources said it is the first time for Olympic mascots to appear on the high-tech product that is rapidly gaining popularity among Chinese computer users.

Coca Cola, another long-term partner with IOC, has launched commemorative tins bearing the Olympic mascots. More than 1.6 million of the special tinned drink will be sold in 21 Chinese cities.

The mascot has always been one of the most popular elements of the Olympiad, says Paul Etchells, Division President, Coca-Cola (China) Beverages Ltd..

Etchells praised the five doll mascots for the Beijing Olympic Games, saying they have embodied Chinese folk art in modern, lively designs.

Coca Cola also launched commemorative tins in 2001 to mark Beijing's success as host city of the 2008 Olympics.