Breakup Girl, http://www.breakupgirl.com/ Intelligence: One of the hottest new mascots online is Breakup Girl, a savvy and strong superhero who tackles ailing love lives. The creator of a female writer-comedian and a male comic artist, Breakup Girl has become such an incredible phenomenon that she has just experienced her first large book release. And the very fact that Breakup Girl can now be found at Barnes and Nobles proves that an online mascot, if popular enough, can expand to the printed page. That is, if the content is equally impressive. Breakup Girl's perceived intelligence is not established by the character, but by the consistently strong textual content of the site. The superhero's emphasis is on providing the character and goodwill elements. Still, with the character interlocked with textual content in the form of exclusive comics, the images and text are sometimes one. It is possible, however, that some women might take offense to her undeniably attractive and voluptuous form. Character: Persona is everything for Breakup Girl. By busting out of the screen and heading right for the visitor with fists clenched, she leaves no doubt about her strength and determination. Her gender alone, as well as that of her creator, is important. This site is targeted toward young women, as witnessed in its lengthy advice, and Breakup Girl's honesty and trustworthiness are paralleled by only her enthusiasm. Her advice is not radical, though straightforward. As a bombshell blonde in red, donning a cape and baseball cap, Breakup Girl is a likable gal. Goodwill: Breakup Girl to the rescue! With the inclusion of lengthy textual content to explain Breakup Girl's history and purpose, there's nothing vague about the webmasters' intentions. As a social support site, achieving a sense of goodwill is extremely important, and Breakup Girl is constantly soliciting feedback and input from her viewers. She is also exceptionally responsive, with a different graphic of her on almost every secondary page on the site. And, then, there's the "Read-at-Work Version" of the site that features the same content, but hides Breakup Girl for future browsing. She definitely has your best interests in mind. On the whole, Breakup Girl ranks with Jeeves near the top of the credibility scale for online mascots. Her brilliant integration into the site's design and content make her the model by which other characters should be conceived. When an online character is so effective that she starts showing up on the covers of print resources, then you can be sure that the ethos is high. Back to the Report Overview Site created 11/27/99, last updated 5/14/00. All textual content published under the supervision of the Department of Speech Communication at The University of Washington, Seattle, and hosted by Filmtracks Publications of Missoula, Montana. All artwork is protected by the Copyright © 2000, of the site(s) it represents. Its appearance on this report is for informational, non-profit use, and may not be redistributed without their expressed written consent. Direct all questions or comments about these pages to Christian Clemmensen.