Here’s the latest member of the mascot fraternity, Coffee Swami. Wondering what he is endorsing? Well, he is the mascot for Coffees of India, as announced by the Coffee Board of India.
The logo unit of IICF ‘Coffee Swami’ was initially designed by Lintas. The mascot represents the coffee bean with its humanoid characteristics. Coffee Swami’s big eyes, conceived to observe consumer behavior, have been developed in keeping with the current market trends. The large bean shaped Mascot represents the rich, satiating heritage of the popular beverage.
Bangalore based Anirights Infomedia which recently won a lot of accolades for its short film, The Bad Egg, was commissioned by the Coffee Board to create animated films around the mascot.
Planned as a curtain raiser to introduce Coffee Swami and the brand that he communicated, the first of the animated films (22 seconds) was released simultaneously along with the introduction of the mascot Coffee Swami which was officially unveiled by Sri. Jairam Ramesh, Honorable Minister of State for Commerce along with the announcement of the India International Coffee Festival (IICF) which is from the 23rd to 25th February, at Bangalore.
The short film features an animated depiction of the formation of the Swami with 7 coffee beans coming together. The film took fifteen days to be completed by a team of four artists including Vikram Vetturi, Vijayraj, Milton and K Suresh. The music score was given by Varaprasad and the production managed by Vikas Verma.
Speaking to Animation Xpress.com, Ashish Kulkarni, CEO, Anirights shared, “The character was originally designed as part of the Coffees of India logo unit by Lintas. Part of our task at Anirights was to adopt the mascot for animation”
“It’s been a great experience creating and animating a character for Indian coffee. Just like Indian coffee has its unique flavor and aroma, Indian animation too has its own nuances and expression. The Coffee Swami animated film we have made showcases the same” he added.
Speaking enthusiastically about the mascot, Anil Bhandari, Coordinator, IICF said, “Coffee Swami would make appearances in various locations of your city; coffee outlets, educational institutions and your friendly neighborhood. With the alluring activities, Swami hopes to position Coffees of India at their rightful position.”
The Swami will be involved in a series of activities (road shows and so on) leading upto the festival, across various cities. His presence will be conspicuous and he will be present at all Coffee related events. His activities won’t cease with the Coffee Festival as Coffee Swami represents Indian Coffees and not the Festival. However, the Festival will be the first mega event which the Swami will participate in.
Chairman of the board, Mr. G.V.Krishna Rau concluded, “The Mascot represents the history of Coffees of India, it represents the unity in diversity, tradition and ancient wisdom yet modern in outlook and carries an unmistakable Indian identity wherever it goes.”