Ohioans Want to Name BMV's New Mascot "Platey McPlateface"

By: Allison Perrine July 11, 2017
The Ohio BMV's anthropomorphic license plate needs a name—and the Internet would like it to be Platey McPlateface.
Share This Page
Share Pin It Email Print

Following in the footsteps of the U.K.’s boat naming contest-turned-viral-sensation, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) asked the Internet to name its new mascot in a social media contest—and the Internet delivered.

On June 27, the Ohio BMV introduced its new mascot to the Internet; the only thing missing was its name. Users had 3 days to submit name suggestions. The BMV has not released the official name of the friendly plate nor when the result will be announced.

The mascot resembles a cartoon humanized license plate that reads “AAA-OOOO.” It is waving and smiling with red and white lace sneakers on, with the word “HI” between its eyes. The name of the mascot was completely up to the creativity of the Internet; the BMV’s sole rule was that only appropriate names would be considered. Users got creative in their social media posts about the campaign.

The most popular suggestion was “Platey McPlateface,” receiving 48 likes and 7 supportive replies on the Ohio BMV’s Facebook page by the close of the contest. Other users agreed with this name on Twitter, creating a thread of 15 responses with the hashtag #PlateyMcPlateface.

Some Facebook suggestions made clever plays on words, including “Otto” for automobile and “PL8-O [Plato], the philosopher of the BMV”.

Others took a different path and aired their BMV-related frustrations. “Shouldn't there be two [mascots] since we're subjected to having to pay for two unnecessary plates? We should name it ‘Rip Off’ then since it's so fitting for the BMV,” one user commented.

Additional jokes were made, including “Wait”—because that’s what happens at the BMV—and “Overpriced” and “Crabby”—like the perceived attitudes of BMV employees.

Recent Articles