AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
- Gritty, the monstrously orange mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers National Hockey League franchise, has become a resistance symbol, especially amid the 2020 election.
- But when he was first launched in 2018, the mascot didn’t get a wholly positive reaction.
- Brian Allen, the artist behind Gritty, talked to Business Insider about the marketing strategy behind the fun-loving monster and why he thinks people have latched on to him.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
As the ballots were being counted in Philadelphia, one orange monstrosity was omnipresent as locals gathered — and the world watched the Pennsylvania results roll in.
He has googly eyes, an ever-changing belly button, a slight propensity for violence, and a mass of orange fur.
His name is Gritty, if you haven’t heard, and his day job is to serve as the mascot for hockey’s Philadelphia Flyers.
He’s also a renowned leftist icon and an international resistance symbol. During the 2020 election, he was, according to Vox, “Donald Trump’s mortal enemy,” and left the French media puzzled: c’est quoi Gritty?
Gritty stands as one of the most irreverent (and successful) marketing tactics in recent American history. A mascot, an envoy, an archetype — of a team, of a city, of a movement, and perhaps 2020 itself.
How to design a marketing coup
Gritty, in his Mel Brooks-ian embrace of the absurd, has found an audience.
An initial run of Gritty bobbleheads flew off the shelves, and the Flyers created a Gritty of the month bobblehead. A search for Gritty on Etsy returns 3,236 results. When the Flyers store reopened this summer after shuttering for the pandemic, one of its new pieces of merchandise featured a portrait of the monster himself, with an overlay that says “Summer of Grit.” During election week, the term “Gritty” saw a spike on Google Trends.
Artist Brian Allen, who runs Flyland Designs and has worked with clients like Hasbro and Marvel, said he was approached by the Flyers about two or three months before Gritty was released in 2018. They were displeased with the “traditional” and “safe” concepts they had received for a mascot.
“The art director said was that they wanted him to be somebody who you’d want to high five, but not hug,” Allen said. “They wanted him to be right off the rails at the beginning.”
Allen said that he presented the Flyers with about 25 different concepts, which spanned everything from a bulldog, different monsters, and a more human silhouette. He couldn’t comment on the specific concepts, but said that Gritty was in his “top three” of potential designs.
Allen said that Gritty’s ascent to international resistance symbol ‘kinda came out of nowhere’
“I guess it makes sense,” he said, “because Gritty, from the very beginning, is sort of anti-establishment. Not really in a political way, but just because he doesn’t fit in with any of the other mascots — he’s sort of an anti-mascot.”
And that ties in to the marketing strategy behind Gritty. Allen emphasized that a more normative mascot — one that’s essentially someone in a big foam mask — wouldn’t necessarily resonate today. Gritty was born to be an outsider, and that’s made all the difference.
From humble origins to social media star
Gritty did have a bit of a rough launch; while children who met him first loved his absurdity, the Internet wasn’t so kind. In his initial rollout, he was met with a mixed reception by the people of Philadelphia (and fascination and horror from Internet denizens).
His early social media presence — where Gritty’s personality emerged, including one tweet where he threatened the Pittsburgh Penguins — “saved the day.”
“I don’t know if this is still true — it may not because of how big he’s become — but the performer actually was writing most or handling most of his own social media,” Allen said, “which I think is really unique because normally in these situations, you’d have some corporate social media team running through everything.”
It’s an effort that paid off, as Gritty transformed from potentially creepy mascot to beloved absurdist icon.
His chaos is his draw, and has helped catapult him to international fame, with coverage in Palestinian and French media. For instance, there’s now a female Gritty — Grittney — roaming the streets of London with pro-democracy messages.
“None of these people, I’m sure, are Flyers fans; they’re probably not even hockey fans,” Allen said. “And I think that’s what really speaks to the success of Gritty for the Flyers is that their brand is now recognizable way beyond the sport.”
Gritty and the Philadelphia Flyers did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
What’s next for Gritty
“I think it would be cool to maybe see some supporting characters for Gritty. I would love to see that come about,” Allen said. “I don’t know, Gritty’s done it all already.”
Allen, the artist behind it all, can’t say how much he made creating for Gritty, since he signed an NDA.
“A lot of people assume I’m a millionaire now and I’m not. Check with me in 50 years.”
But he did say that the design of Gritty is the “most recognizable thing I’ve done.” Allen is appreciative that his name has been so attached to Gritty. He’s worked with big brands, including Metallica, before, but he said that those designs are often released, get buzz, and that’s it.
“Gritty does not go away — whether you want him to or not,” Allen said. “And I don’t think he’s going away anytime soon.”
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