New Ole unveiled
Campus officials release image of redesigned mascot following months-long ad campaigns

By Nathan Elg

Mirror Staff Writer
February 22, 2008

The Commons building flickered to black at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 21, and the “invasion” began.

The new Ole the Viking logo was unveiled in the Commons dining hall, bearing little resemblance to the 35-year-old Ole, and now has fully emerged on Augustana’s apparel, Web site and city billboards.

“The timing was just right,” vice president for marketing and communications Bob Preloger said. “We now have a new momentum with our conference change and new stadium, and we’re trying to take advantage of that.”

Augustana began preparing for the “invasion” last September when a committee of 17 representatives of the Augustana community, including students, professors, administrators, athletic department personnel and alumni, met several times with representatives of the local advertising agency Lawrence & Schiller to give Ole a facelift, gym membership and new wardrobe.

“Overall, it was a pretty cooperative group,” sociology professor and committee member Bill Swart said. “It actually surprised me how much agreement there was. I thought there would be much more diverse opinions on the designs.”

“We unanimously agreed and were excited about the image,” ASA President and committee member Jesson Vogt said. “Hopefully, the new logo will strike more excitement than controversy. It’s always hard to predict the student response.”

The big question now is whether students will continue calling the new image Ole.

“I have a tough time calling it Ole,” Swart said. “The only real similarity is that it’s still a Viking.”