Past and Present
Joe Bruin, beloved UCLA mascot, receives another makeover in an
attempt to give him an updated ’90s look
By Susan Lee
hen the students’ association set out to redesign UCLA’s
venerable Joe Bruin mascot, the developers were faced with a
daunting challenge – balancing tradition, progress, profits,
athletic aggressiveness and the university’s full diversity.
Today, culminating an exhaustive 10-month development process,
the association will unveil an entirely re-designed Joe Bruin,
which developers hope will represent the broad spectrum of
communities at UCLA.
"The main thing was to try find an image of Joe Bruin that would
be universally UCLA," said Keith Brant, director of the Alumni
Association and a member of the committee that oversaw the mascot’s
re-design.
In the past, different university departments have used a wide
variety of UCLA logos, causing some confusion. By involving the
Alumni Association, the athletic department and the university in
the development process, the students’ association hopes the new
Joe Bruin will end the confusion and unify the campus’ image.
Other, more tangible problems with the old Joe included a 50
percent decline in domestic royalties during the last five years,
said Anne Pautler, the students’ association director of marketing.
Although association officials do not expect the new logo to
generate a massive jump in sales, they are hoping for a modest,
long-term profit from their efforts.
"This is not a windfall like a national championship or Rose
Bowl. We’re hoping it’ll catch on and become a strong part of the
line," Pautler said.
"Most schools are recognized for their mascots, like Notre
Dame," Pautler said, hoping that the re-design will help identify
the campus with the new Joe Bruin in a similar way.
To make that hope a reality, the student’s association hired
focus groups to gauge public opinion on the new Joe, and a
professional company was brought on to render the new mascot. All
told, the new Joe Bruin carried a $60,000 price tag.
Although this incarnation of the venerable UCLA mascot was the
most expensive to develop, it is far from the first re-design Joe
Bruin has seen. In the university’s early days, when UCLA was no
more than UC Berkeley’s southern branch, there was no Bruin at all,
only a cub.
In 1927, when UCLA was officially established, the mascot grew
from a cub to a grizzly. It finally matured into a Bruin during
1928.
During the 1930s, Joe Bruin bore a striking resemblance to
Mickey Mouse, complete with the long snout and big ears. From
today’s perspective, some of these early mascot renderings are
hardly recognizable as bears, much less as a Bruin.
"I like happy bears, but I didn’t really like the goofy looking
ones (from earlier years), which just looked silly," said Sheila
Cameron, vice-president of the Alumni Association’s board of
directors.
In his 1950s incarnation, Joe Bruin’s smile turned to a scowl,
and he often donned a leather-flap football helmet. Graduates of
the era remembered this tougher Joe fondly. Cameron, a 1955 UCLA
graduate, recalled also having a real bear on campus.
"I remember there was a real bear which they brought to campus
sometimes. It wasn’t just any cub … it was pretty ferocious, and
I think they even put a UCLA T-shirt on it," Cameron said.
Ann Rieber-Plauzoles, an active UCLA community member and
alumna, attended the university during the 1960s, when Joe Bruin
took on a more accessible and friendly manner.
"I’ve always loved Joe Bruin; he wasn’t just an ordinary bear.
Nothing at UCLA was ordinary -10 national championships was hardly
ordinary at all," Rieber-Plauzoles said.
In 1970, the logo was transformed into the most familiar of all
incarnations: the broad smiling Joe with the tilted head that
appears as Joe and Josephine Bruin on the sidelines of every
football and basketball game.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, the silhouette of a natural
bear was introduced, and various campus organizations tinkered with
their own versions of a UCLA mascot.
Each version of Joe Bruin has its followers, and developers have
attempted to reach a compromise between the tradition of a friendly
Joe with demand for a more aggressive mascot.
"I liked the ’50s logo because he looked a lot meaner than the
Joe Bruin of the ’70s," said Matt Garcia, a third-year political
science student."
But, Steve Helpern, who wore the Joe Bruin costume on the
sidelines during the glory years of UCLA basketball, has nothing
but fond memories of the friendly Joe.
"(Joe Bruin) has always been a part of UCLA and both students
and nonstudents like him," Helpern said. "Parents and kids like to
shake hands with Joe. Joe has always been very popular. Back then,
around Halloween time, the costume was a very popular item …
people always wanted to come borrow the head of Joe."
The students’ association is banking on their $60,000 investment
to please both traditionalists and those hoping for a more
aggressive mascot. The new Joe Bruin will be unveiled today in an
elaborate Westwood Plaza ceremony.
70’s Joe Bruin
60’s Joe Bruin
40’s Joe Bruin
20’s Joe Bruin
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