How do cultural and creative products "circle fans"?
Recently, Bing Dun Dun, the mascot of this Winter Olympics, has become a "top stream", from frequent hot searches, to the sale of related products in the online store 3 seconds after they were sold out, and then to the Winter Olympics franchise store lined up. The hundreds of meters long dragon... This is not the first time that the mascot based on the panda has been held in previous events in China.
What is the magic of Bing Dundun that makes people so fascinated?
How did it come about?
“Bing Dundun is so cute”
The reporter recently came to the Winter Olympics franchise store in Wangfujing, Beijing, and saw a notice on the door that "Bingdundun related products are sold out today". Although there was no queue of hundreds of meters, customers who came to consult There is still an endless stream, and people take pictures with the Bing Dun Dun sculpture in the store from time to time.
Ms. Wu, who lives in Beijing, is a "fan" of Bingdundun. She has been buying online and offline many times to no avail. She participated in the volunteer service activities of the Winter Olympics and still failed to buy it.
"Bingdundun-related products are so popular that many domestic relatives and friends cannot buy them." Xiaoyuan, who is studying in Singapore, has the same troubles. She can only look at "Dun" and sigh.
Seeing the strong market demand, manufacturers have also increased their supply efforts.
"As early as February 5th, we asked workers to return to work and reimbursed air tickets. We urgently contacted suppliers to resume work and resume production, and opened Bingdundun's silicone shell molds to increase production capacity and increase production efforts. The production line runs 24 hours a day. , do our best to meet the market demand." The relevant person in charge of a licensed manufacturer of the Beijing Winter Olympics said in an interview with this reporter.
Pu Xuedong, director of the market development department of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, said that some products, especially the licensed products of Bingdundun, are not easily available for the time being. Active measures are taken to promote production, and products will be continuously supplied to the market.
Why is Bing Dun Dun so popular?
"Because its shape is so cute, I can't refuse." Ms. Wu replied.
After the reporter visited and investigated, it was found that the cute shape is the main reason why Bing Dun Dun is loved by most people.
How can a small Bing Dundun have such a great charm?
How was it designed?
In October 2018, the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee propaganda group came to Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts to talk about mascot design. "There were only 19 days left before the deadline for the draft." Cao Xue, head of the design team of Bingdundun and professor of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, recalled .
Due to the tight schedule and heavy tasks, Cao Xue still wanted to give it a try and set up a design team. "The team originally consisted of 12 members who did graphic design, and later added 2 people to specialize in 3D design."
In the following period, the design team worked tirelessly to draw tens of thousands of manuscripts, forming more than 50 sets of plans and ideas, and selected 16 sets to report to the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee.
"I didn't think about the outcome at the time, I just wanted to do my part for the Beijing Winter Olympics." Cao Xue said.
More than two months later, Cao Xue received a notice from the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee.
The expert group selected 10 proposals from nearly 6,000 proposals from around the world, of which 3 proposals were from Cao Xue's design team, including the prototype of Bing Dun Dun - a string of ice candy haws.
Cao Xue said that rock candied gourd is a northern snack, down-to-earth.
The icing on its body can also be reminiscent of ice and snow sports, and this icing is the source of inspiration for the ice shells in the future.
"Emphasis on Chinese elements and Winter Olympics elements"
However, as the mascot of a world-class sports event, Bingtanghulu has a relatively small audience, and foreign friends are relatively unfamiliar with it.
The Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee and relevant experts suggested that only the ice shell should be kept and animals should be used as the wrapping.
After trial and error, the design team decided to use pandas as the subject.
"Pandas have Chinese characteristics and are very popular all over the world. It is more suitable as the prototype of the mascot." Cao Xue said.
However, there are many cultural and creative products in the shape of pandas. The prototype of the mascots of many large-scale competitions held in China before is also a panda.
How can this panda be different and be loved by more people?
Only by "pushing out the old" can "the new come out".
The design team first printed out all the cartoon characters based on pandas that could be found.
"There are thousands of them in total, and they are densely attached to the walls and ceilings, staring at them repeatedly." Cao Xue said.
It’s not enough to just look at other people’s designs. You have to go to the field to observe pandas. When the design team collected materials on site in Sichuan, they found that compared with adult pandas, juvenile pandas have shorter limbs, and walk in the shape of an inward character, making them more round and lovely.
"On the other hand, according to the survey of the sales of mascot-related products of the previous Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee suggested that the target group of mascot-related products should be targeted at children, and young pandas are more likely to be favored by children." Cao Xue said.
Once the styling foundation was settled, the design team faced another difficulty: since the previous Olympic mascots mainly attracted children, should the design this time be only for children?
After many discussions, the design team believes that the "greatest common divisor" of aesthetics should still be pursued, taking into account the demands of various groups.
The design team found that the simple image design is more popular, a panda and a set of ice shells are enough.
Cao Xue said: "If you blindly pile traditional cultural symbols such as face masks and paper-cuts on the mascots, it may not only cause the aesthetic fatigue of Chinese consumers, but also increase the difficulty of understanding for foreign audiences. We think it is more important to focus on the current situation. The design is based on the aesthetic appeal, and focuses on Chinese elements and Winter Olympics elements.”
After determining the general direction, the design team began to modify and make local adjustments.
This process is not easy. Taking the fatness and thinness of the mascot as an example, how to find a balance point that is cute and not bloated can only be done through trial and error.
And due to the principle of confidentiality, the design team needs to go from Guangzhou to Beijing to submit the revised plan to the Winter Olympics Organizing Committee.
"More than 20 times to and from Beijing, we have built nearly a thousand folders, and each folder represents a set of plans." Cao Xue said.
In the end, Bingdundun, wearing a helmet and an ice shell, was born. The colorful halo, which symbolizes the "ice ribbon" of the National Speed Skating Hall, is embellished on the helmet, which is full of futuristic and technological sense.
The strong Winter Olympic elements on Bing Dun Dun are an important reason for attracting many consumers.
"Bingdundun related products are not only cute, but also symbolize the Beijing Winter Olympics and the spirit of the Olympics, which are different from other ordinary dolls and figures. The Fuwa dolls that my mother bought for me when I was a child, I still cherish them now." Xiao Yuan said .
Jin Yuanpu, the former chief expert of the Beijing Humanistic Olympics Research Base and a professor at Renmin University of China, believes that Bingdundun not only innovates traditional Chinese symbols, but also successfully tells the Chinese story of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Associating itself with the Beijing Winter Olympics laid the groundwork for Bing Dun Dun's popularity today.
"Chinese cultural and creative products have the ability to go overseas"
In September 2019, after the Winter Olympics Organizing Committee determined the mascot Bing Dun Dun, related products must be publicly available to consumers in November.
It only takes two months to implement the design on the drawings.
Although the product looks simple, there are many technical difficulties involved.
Especially the layer of ice shell, which the licensed manufacturer has put a lot of thought into.
Because of its crystal clear and safe and environmentally friendly characteristics, food-grade silica gel was selected as the raw material for the shell of Bingdundun plush toy.
But it is the first time for a manufacturer to mass-produce such a large silicone case.
Structural design of the mold, mold opening, mold trial, debugging, and production are all huge challenges.
How to grasp the hardness of the silicone shell?
How can I make the casing more transparent?
There are no ready-made answers to these, and we can only constantly explore and adjust.
It is also not easy to print the color of the "Ice Ribbon" accurately on the head shell of Bing Dundun.
"Printing is generally done on a flat surface. We spent nearly half a month conducting experiments and overcame a lot of problems before we developed a relatively mature printing technology," said the general manager of a licensed manufacturer.
After the polishing of many licensed manufacturers, Bingdundun's plush toys and other related products have finally achieved mass production, "walking" from the drawings to the hands of consumers.
When it first came out, the sales of Bingdundun related products have been tepid. Why is it so hard to find a "dun" now?
"The opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics has attracted people's attention. Taking advantage of the Winter Olympics, Bingdundun has expanded its influence with the help of social media." Jin Yuanpu analyzed, "Especially, short videos have the characteristics of precise targeting and strong communication. , short videos with the theme of Bing Dun Dun emerge in an endless stream, speeding up the spread.”
Netizens have also made secondary creations around Bing Dundun, and derivative topics such as "Homemade Bing Dun Dun" and "Bing Dun Dun Makeup" remain popular on social platforms.
"As early as the beginning of BingdunDun, we designed 4 sets of expression packs to adapt to the law of network communication." Cao Xue said.
Now these memes have spread widely on the Internet.
It is worth noting that the success of Bing Dun Dun in this Winter Olympics is inseparable from the "brothers and sisters" of Bing Dundun who have become athletes and staff from all over the world, showing the charm of Bing Dundun to the world: there is Japan The reporter showed the badge of Bing Dun Dun in the live broadcast, and some athletes expressed that they wanted to win a Bing Dun Dun for their sister... "This shows that China has cultural symbols that the world can love, and it also shows that Chinese cultural and creative products have the ability to go overseas." Jin Yuanpu Say.
"Bingdundun symbolizes the Winter Olympics, and is prosperous because of the Winter Olympics." Jin Yuanpu said, "After the Winter Olympics, by innovating in related products and communication methods, the popularity of Bingdundun can be maintained." It is reported that, The animated film "Our Winter Olympics" will be released on February 19. Bing Dun Dun and Xuerong Rong will be in the same frame as Nezha, Huluwa, Xiong Da, Xiong Er and other well-known Chinese animation IPs.
Cao Xue was not worried that Bing Dundun would be "out of breath".
"As the mascot of a Winter Olympics, Bing Dundun has been recorded in the Olympic history. In the future, we will continue to study the reasons for Bing Dun Dun's "circle fans" to promote the emergence of more Chinese cultural and creative industries' Bingdundun'." Cao Xue said.
Zhao Hao
Zhao Hao