What’s Warm and Fuzzy and Green All Over? A Winner!

Our own Phillie Phanatic was crowned the #1 sports mascot in the country by The Marketing Arm's Davie-Brown Index and reported on Forbes.com. We’re not too clear on what a Davie-Brown Index is, nor do we care. Our beloved Phanatic, born in 1978, beat out the likes of Mr. Met, Famous Chicken, and the Racing Sausages (!) for the number one slot, meaning his “ability to influence brand identity with the public” was higher. How one’s influence can be higher than a sausage is questionable, but we are assured the ranking was all on the up and up (see the top ten here).

One of the reasons Phanatic is so popular is that he appeals to children, and as Forbes.com notes, "Hook 'em while they're young. It's a common corporate strategy: Appeal to young groups and secure a slew of customers for life." We remember when McDonald’s had collectible rubber Phanatics in various baseball poses (our favorite was the one sliding into home base) with Happy Meals, and considering how jealously we hoarded them we must say that strategy is sound. Wonder where they all ended up… eBay here we come!

Image Credit: Flickr user The G-tastic 7