‘Fido Dido has universal appeal’

The brand connect between Fido Dido and PepsiCo’s lemon fizzy drink 7Up is the stuff that brand mascots can only dream of. Eight upright strands of hair, a triangular face perched on a thin wiry physique, Fido is called the “King of cool”. 

Its creator Joanna Ferrone was in Mumbai recently to supervise the co-production of Fido one-minute shorts at the Graphiti Multimedia animation studio. DNA Money’s Arcopol Chaudhuri spoke to Joanna and co-producer Munjal Shroff, COO, Graphiti Multimedia, and learnt about brand Fido’s birth, life story and principles (read ‘Fidosophies’). Excerpts:

You are the queen who gave birth to the King of cool. How did it all happen?
Joanna: It was 1985 and I was sitting in a New York restaurant with my friend Sue Rose and scribbling on a paper napkin. This simple figure emerged and its body language defied what the general atmosphere and the culture of New York in the 1980s — night clubs, art and fashion.

How did the development of Fido into a full-fledged character take place?
Joanna: Well, it began with just a head and we put it on T-shirts. Eventually it got noticed by costume designer Patricia Fields (Sex and the City) and she introduced the designs at her boutique. And that put Fido in the spotlight. We introduced slogans — Fidosophies printed on the back of these T-shirts and people went crazy over it. We soon created about 125 five-second shorts using 2-D for CBS. It was fun bringing him to life.

When did the interest from PepsiCo come in?
Joanna: Fido was about three years old then. Pepsi’s agency Leo Burnett, based in Chicago, was looking for a mascot for 7Up, their lemon fizzy drink. It wanted a certain character that was cool, identifiable and really liberal in its outlook. Fido has worked tremendously for the brand; it is now synonymous with 7Up.

What qualities does brand Fido represent?
Joanna: Fido is the King of cool. He’s not confrontational. He has the ability to turn any situation to his advantage and easily finds his way through. He won’t push anything down your throat. He won’t hardsell. He’s cool being himself and it is his non-pushy nature that has gone down well with consumers. His physical forms have changed though, from mere drawings, to 2D and now 3D animation.

Fido is now 23 and has travelled several countries and become a brand himself. Is the perception about him still the same?
Joanna: You know, I am always creatively involved in 7Up campaigns across continents and the opinion everywhere is exactly the same. Be it Brazil, the US or India, the responses he brings about are similar. It is important that a brand has a uniform image globally and Fido as a brand mascot has managed it. 7Up, therefore, has become a very strong brand with a unanimous recall. And Fido is very critical to 7Up.

In what other forms has Brand Fido garnered revenues?
Joanna: Merchandising and gaming are two major formats. In India, over the next 2 years Precious Apparel will create the Fido range of merchandise. As organised retail in India hots up, we’re optimistic that Fido merchandising will go places. We’re already present in gaming (through Jump Games) and now thanks to our co-production with Graphiti Multimedia, Fido “shorts” will be made in a year.

Are you looking at creating longer formats like feature films and television series?
Joanna: We’re not looking at long formats at the moment, because we believe that will require the creation of a host of characters and new situations for Fido to dwell in. 

What does the co-production entail?
Munjal: These are 13 music-driven action one-minute shorts that will feature a 3D Fido applying his unique Fidosophies to the world of sports. We’re currently brainstorming, designing the characters and creating fresh scripts for the series, which should go on air on Nickelodeon later this year.
 
c_arcopol@dnaindia.net