Mascot

A mascot – originally a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – now includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fictional spokespeople for consumer products, such as the rabbit used in advertising and marketing for the General Mills Trix brand of breakfast cereal.

Sports teams widely have mascots, especially at university and school level in the United States, where teams are often identified by their mascot. Team mascots will typically make a regular appearance at games and related events, while logos and merchandise can often bear the mascot's image. In many instances the mascot corresponds with the team name. Sometimes the mascot is for the school itself rather than just a single team, such as Rowdy the Roadrunner, the mascot of the University of Texas at San Antonio. Mascots are not always animals; characters may be fantasy creatures (Deamon Deacon), people, or inanimate objects (Mr. Met or Vince and Larry, the Crash Test Dummies).

The term mascot can also refer to a costumed character based on the character design, used in public appearances. The terms are generally interchangeable. One might consider the actor in Mickey Mouse character costume to be a mascot for the Walt Disney Company, but supporting characters such as Goofy or Donald Duck, are commonly referred to as costumed characters or actors in character costumes.