that’s beautiful. i’m not certain, but mostly because of the red stripe, i think. wow.

I had not seen “Amik” before – definitely the best attempt I’ve seen at representing Canada’s first animaux. I believe Parks Canada is the most recent organization in Canada to make a serious attempt at using the beaver in their branding. The original beaver from the seventies was re-designed a few years back. At one point it even sported a smiley face! Personally, I think the original beaver was more successful ‚Äì simplicity always works best in design.

Oh!! Very beatefull logo!!!… for me

That is pretty cool.Great design!

That Is a Wonderful Mascot that really reprsents Canada atmosphere. My Backround is from Canada and i hear all about it. I Dont think i know what a Amik is but im always open to new word!

Oh No! <http://www.summerworks.ca/2009/home.php>

It’s good to hear so many compliments towards the design of Amik; if you check out many of the blogs about Olympic mascots, Amik does not fare as well as most: he is criticized as ambiguous, remote, too minimal, lacking in persona, etc., etc., but, in a sense, this is precisely what makes him so successful as a design. He really is an emblem, not a mascot. The design suggests that he is affable, NOT cute, in short, worthy of reproduction but not of endless crass marketing schemes. He represents many of the high ideals of Canadian design of the period prior to the “cutification” of everything. I’m sorry he remains misunderstood because he lacks the charms of the admittedly effective Miga, Sumi, Quatchi, and Mukmuk.

What’s the idea with the red stripe?

Hi Mike, The red sash referenced the ribbons on the ’76 medals. Here’s what I wrote about this piece for SI.com recently (you can click on the Luke Winn at the Winter Olympics link above to see the entire article): “The beaver is one of Canada’s oldest symbols, reaching back to the country’s earliest fur-trading roots. The beaver adorned Canada’s first official postage stamp and was even proposed for our national flag. Thankfully we dodged that one, but the giant rodent can still be found on the Canadian nickel, the government coat of arms and even the logo for Roots Clothing (which has built a successful brand by playing at Canadian-ness). We’ve heard all the jokes before — we probably wrote most of them — but it’s difficult to refute the beaver’s legitimate symbolism. Though not the most original choice, Amik (which means beaver in a common Algonquin dialect) was certainly a logical choice for Canada’s first Olympic logo. Subject matter aside, Amik is sometimes criticized for being too flat and static. Contemporary audiences have come to expect playful cartoon characters and people wearing costumes. Amik was never intended to satisfy these expectations. Instead, the friendly little beaver was conceived as a logo, symbolizing the spirit of hard work and perseverance at the heart of the Games. Though there were a few three-dimensional versions of Amik — wooden pull toys, plush toys and a cast plastic edition in a range of colors — he generally appeared as a solid black beaver with a red sash (matching the ribbons of Montreal’s Olympic medals). While Olympic merchandising was still in its infancy in 1976, thanks to excellent graphic design, Amilk has proven to have lasting appeal.”

Ok, I laughed its ugly and cute idk what i think(:(:(:

I’m looking to buy the Amik Mascot, if anyone knows of one for sell or where I can purchase one!

I happen to have a plastic cast Amik in it’s original packaging. Does anyone know if it is worth anything as far as collectables go ? Feel free to email me to pass along any info about it. Thanks H

I must say you have done a great job. Fantastic.

Looking to buy the plush animal Amik, if anyone has one for sale.