Not currently on display at the V&A

Powder

Olympic Mascot
before 2002 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Powder was one of three official mascots for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Characteristics of the three animals were based on the Olympic slogan ‘Faster, Higher, Stonger’. In Native American legend the snowshoe hare raced to the top of a mountain to shoot the sun and saved the Earth from overheating. The three characters appeared on a wide range of merchandise, with the plush version here licensed to Mattel, and manufactured in China.

The design process was started in September 1997, and a selection of animals went through focus groups with these three being the most popular. The final characters were designed by a design partnership of Landor Associates and Publicis. The illustrations on the label were drawn by London-based illustrator Steve Small.

These Salt Lake City mascots follow in the tradition of the first official mascot, Waldi the Bavarian dachshund from Munich 1972, in being animals representative of the host region.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePowder (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Polyester plush, stuffed
Brief description
Powder, cream plush hare with original merchandise tag. Official mascot of 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. Designed by Landor Associates and Publicis.
Physical description
Cream coloured hare with long black-tipped ears and four black whiskers. Very large feet, flat on bottom. Legs are stuffed seperately to allow sitting. Black plastic eyes and orange plastic name tag on cord attached to neck. Pink nose and embroidered mouth. Embroidered Salt Lake City emblem and Olympic rings on bottom of left foot. Original card merchandising label with plastic tag.
Dimensions
  • Whole height: 45cm
  • Sitting height: 34cm
  • Arm span width: 24cm
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
Embroidery on foot: 'OFFICIAL MASCOTS SALT LAKE 2002' Label: 'AGES 3 & UP / powder'
Object history
Produced, along with two other characters Coal and Copper, as the official mascot of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Described as a 'signature property', the appearance of mascots was managed by the Marketing Services Department.
Subject depicted
Place depicted
Associations
Summary
Powder was one of three official mascots for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Characteristics of the three animals were based on the Olympic slogan ‘Faster, Higher, Stonger’. In Native American legend the snowshoe hare raced to the top of a mountain to shoot the sun and saved the Earth from overheating. The three characters appeared on a wide range of merchandise, with the plush version here licensed to Mattel, and manufactured in China.

The design process was started in September 1997, and a selection of animals went through focus groups with these three being the most popular. The final characters were designed by a design partnership of Landor Associates and Publicis. The illustrations on the label were drawn by London-based illustrator Steve Small.

These Salt Lake City mascots follow in the tradition of the first official mascot, Waldi the Bavarian dachshund from Munich 1972, in being animals representative of the host region.
Collection
Accession number
B.139-2011

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Record createdFebruary 14, 2012
Record URL
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