Ninety-eight percent of Chinese people can name the five Fuwa who will serve as the official mascots of the upcoming Beijing Olympics, according to recent research conducted by Nielsen.
The survey, conducted in late June, also found that the Fuwa are popular in China. Sixty percent of respondents said they "like" or "really like" them, while more than 20% were neutral, and just 15% said they "dislike" the Fuwa.
Those who recognize the Fuwa also appear to be spending money on official Olympic merchandise featuring their images. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents said they had purchased Olympic merchandise, and a majority of those noted that the items they purchased display the Fuwa mascots.
A popular Chinese cartoon series that features the Fuwa may have played a key role in building the Fuwa's popularity, Richard Basil-Jones, Nielsen's managing director of Media Research Asia Pacific, noted.
"The high awareness of Fuwa, popularity of its merchandise and the success of the cartoon TV show have all contributed to and are a testament to the success of the creation of these mascots and the high level of engagement for the Olympics among Chinese," Basil-Jones said.
Nielsen's survey was conducted via Nielsen's "Your Voice" online panel among 3,087 people age 15 and above.
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