Arizona State Ditches New Sparky for Newer One

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Given a mulligan with the new version of its mascot, Arizona State went online to unveil the latest incarnation of Sparky.

An upgraded Sparky introduced on March 1 was called creepy and likened to a cross between the Honey Nut Cheerios bee, Buzz Lightyear and Jafar from Aladdin.

Arizona State officials ditched the new-look Sparky not long after that and held an online vote to determine what the new one would look like.

The winning version, picked by 55 percent of more than 17,000 voters, was unveiled through Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday.

The new Sparky looks less like a Disney character than the previous one and more like the original character that was drawn in 1946.

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