RSS Feed

The Panda Poster Child

October 17, 2013 by Michaela Dietrich   

In the past few posts, I have talked a lot about recent news in the panda world, but for this week’s post, I would like to discuss how important the giant panda is for consumer merchandise.  I am sure many people have seen the panda as the poster child for a franchise, organization, clothing line etc.  Not only is this because the lethargic black and white bamboo bears are completely adorable, but also because they are very highly respected in the Chinese culture, and often used as a symbol.  This has been carried over through the years mainly because of China’s significance in trade throughout the world.  Here are a few companies/franchises that you might find familiar that have come to use the giant panda as its image.

The Panda Express

The Panda Express

Yes, we have one of these in our very own HUB, and it aims to represent the Chinese cuisine for the smorgasbord of food options that Penn Staters have to choose from.  However, if not a panda as the icon chosen, and maybe a Bengal Tiger, would the message that this is a Chinese food place (although with a lot of fried American influence) still come across as clearly? Probably not.

Enjoi

Enjoi Panda

The message of why exactly a panda is the icon for a skateboarding company is something I do not quite understand, but it still has attracted consumers and popularity either way.  After doing a little bit of research, I found that the founder/owner, Marc Johnson, named his company enjoi because he wanted his consumers and fellow skateboarders to enjoi life and skateboarding (he also apparently came up with both the word and picture logos in a dream).

WWF

WWF Saving Private Panda Post

I’ve already discussed the importance of the giant panda as the symbol for the World Wildlife Foundation in a previous post.  However the fact that the panda was chosen to represent all endangered species and conservation efforts is a testament to its significance.

These are just a few examples of many that I can provide, however I did not begin to touch the sundry other merchandise items that can be found with pandas on them.  Some examples are phone cases, kindle skins, pillow pets, stuffed animals, calendars, jewelry, clothing (particularly shirts), hats, gloves, posters, bags, picture frames, and many many more.  I would know, I just named a lot of the items I personally own that are panda-related.  But then again, no one should really be too shocked because China makes most of our consumer products.


»

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Skip to toolbar