Mystery Mascot

Some advertising symbols are obvious: at a glance they tell us what the thing they are promoting is and what it is about. Others send a message about how the entity or product they are advertising wants to be perceive; warm and fuzzy, perhaps, or modern and efficient. However, there are a handful of such symbols which leave me scratching my head. Chief amongst these is the EDF mascot. You now the one I mean - that strange piece of animated plasticine which features in its current TV advertising campaign. I mean, what, exactly, is it meant to be? I'm assuming that it is intended to represent a flame which, bearing in mind that EDF is an energy supplier, would make a certain amount of sense. Sadly though, to me it looks like a perambulating turd. A turd with eyes. Even the colour, that pale brown hue, seems right for a turd

What amazes me is that they've allowed this campaign to get this far - surely somebody should have noticed the mascot's resemblance to something deposited by a dog on a pavement? Every time I see one of those EDF commercials I fully expect to see the mascot scooped up by someone with a plastic bag and deposited in a bin, (or hung in a tree if they are a really antisocial bastard). After all who would want to be represented by a living turd? What message is it sending about EDF Energy? We produce your power by burning dog shit? Maybe that's it - they're trying to establish their environmental credentials by suggesting that they go around collecting up stray dog turds and hurling them into the furnaces of their power stations. Simultaneously they are cleaning up the streets and producing environmentally clean energy. Except that I should imagine that dog shit is anything but an environmentally friendly fuel. Can you imagine the evil fumes any power station burning it would emit? You wouldn't want to live downwind of that, would you?

(After a quick bit of research, I've found that the turd even has a name: Zingy. Not a very appropriate name for a piece of shit, in my opinion, but there you are).