Father Frost is the most successful Olympic mascot, Russians say. It evokes positive emotions and conveys the atmosphere of holiday.
MOSCOW, February 10, 2011. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data describing which symbols Russians would choose to be the Sochi Olympics mascot, and which ones they would not.
According to Russians, top three mascots reflecting the culture of the host country are Father Frost (24% versus 12% in November previous year), Dolphin (16% versus 4% respectively) and Brown Bear (16%).
The leading mascot that conveys the atmosphere of the winter holiday is Father Frost (28%). Russians also mentioned Dolphin (15%), Brown Bear (12% versus 3% in 2010) and Hare (12%).
In terms of big advertising potential the most popular mascots are regarded to be Dolphin (19%), Father Frost (17% versus 10% in November previous year), and Brown Bear (16%).
Assessing the positive emotions the mascot should evoke, top three leaders remain the same: Father Frost (18% versus 10% in November), Dolphin (17% versus 6% respectively) and Brown Bear (17%).
And finally, in terms of the ability to be remembered the leaders are Father Frost (20% versus 13% in November 2010) and Dolphin (20% versus 5% respectfully). They are followed by Brown Bear being mentioned rarer than before (14% versus 18% respectfully).
Russians would never choose Snowflake to be the Sochi Olympics mascot (24%). This is followed by Leopard on the second place (20%), and Sun on the third (15%).
More Russians would join the public movement to support the Father Frost to be the winner in the competition of the Olympic mascots: the share of Russians who approve of this symbol has increased from 51 to 57%.
According to Russians, Father Frost almost fully matches such criterion, as the ability to evoke kind and positive emotions (68%). The second place is held by the ability to convey the atmosphere of the winter holiday (61%). More than half of respondents recognize the Father Frost to have the ability to be remembered and reflect the culture of the host country (54% for each), big advertising potential (51%). Forty-four percent of Russians believe this symbol is the most successful in terms of reflecting the values of the Olympic movement.
The initiative Russian opinion polls were conducted on 5-6 February, 2011. 1600 respondents were interviewed at 138 sampling points in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.