How a mascot came alive with 200+ sketches
India has a rich advertising history of brand mascots and musical jingles that live on in our hearts years after. At any moment, the Nirma girl returns, twirling in our imagination. Another favourite moppet, the Amul girl refuses to show signs of aging since Sylvester daCunha conceived her in 1967. In the summer of 2009, Vodafone’s ZooZoo characters made new waves, proving that mascots continue to play a pivotal role in branding. Audiences identified easily with the playful characters; T-shirts, key-chains and other collectibles became part and parcel of the ZooZoo fan club.
It is clear that mascots have a strong potential for colourful storytelling. And so, when Ace2three approached Lopez Design for a rebrand, we proposed to revive the brand’s existing mascot Patti Raj with a new face.
The brainchild of Deepak Gullapalli, CEO & Founder of Ace2three, ‘Patti Raj’ started out as a doodle, which manifested as a companion speaker for the brand. However, over the years, the mascot failed to align with the brand’s evolving image. The masculine and domineering character appealed only to a small fragment of the target audience, which held the opinion that rummy is a man’s game and winning was a stroke of luck. Yet hardcore rummy players know that the game requires a strategic approach and winning is not mere chance. A professional space for rummy was unlikely to succeed as long as gaming platforms incentivized players with monetary rewards. Therefore, we rebuilt Ace2three’s brand as a professional club that celebrates the skill of rummy and restores the integrity of the game.
Principal Anthony Lopez recalls how he zeroed in on Patti Raj’s new character to align with the new strategy and lead the way.
“Patti Raj’ as the rich king did not fit with our new strategy and positioning. His persona went through a complete change from a wealthy person sitting on his money to the image of a champion: a player in the field who is wise to the ways of the game. And now, he wants to share his wisdom by mentoring and advising players to become professional champions and making them part of an elite club. We placed Patti Raj’s symbolic status onto a coin while retaining his signature moustache, allowing him to pop up at an instant, always there ready to help.”
Behind the scenes
Beyond making an iconic rendering, we had to create an image for Patti Raj that would break stereotypes of rummy as a man’s game and its associations with gambling. Our research showed us that a huge percentage of those engaged in online card games were women and younger generation players; hence, the mascot had to strike a chord with a diverse audience, changing the earlier focus on a male audience.
Mascots sourced from objects or animals require a humanistic rendering so that the audience can relate to their character. In our quest for a perfect mascot, over two hundred sketches covered the floor of our studio. Our aim was to make the mascot approachable and professional. To rejuvenate Patti Raj with a new life, every detail mattered. Every single stroke was revisited and redrawn. The moustache was sharpened and the crown made more compact to give the aura of an expert. The master-stroke of the chin line made the final cut, transforming the mascot’s stiff demeanour to that of a welcoming guide who can help you ace the game.
Meet the new mascot!
We revived Patti Raj from the iconic Card-King into a coach-type personality who was the ultimate master of the game. The new mascot was portrayed as a wise role model and trusted companion, who played a vital role in mentoring the players and shaping their game, guiding them throughout their journey to becoming a professional card-player.
We took on the challenge to tap into the unexplored market for rummy and this approach changed the entire playing field for Ace2three. The brand now stepped into the white space of a professional and premium domain. The brand’s platform was reenvisioned for training rummy players and up-skilling them into professional and premium players. The strategy focused on shedding the regular guy image and becoming a brand personality that is more desirable to take forward gaming platforms which ‘promise treasures through adventures’.
View the full case-study
Written by Harshala Gupte
Edited by Sujatha Shankar Kumar
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