Buzzy the Drone is FAA’s new mascot: love it or hate it?

The Federal Aviation Administration has created a new mascot, and she’s got a name: Buzzy The Drone.

The FAA this month launched a marketing campaign around Buzzy, which primarily targets new drone users who get a drone for the holidays to teach them about safety.

“Sometimes a nasty tree will jump right into your flight path,” the campaign facetiously states. “All too often, the drone gets scared and flies away if you let it out of your sight. And upset neighbors may knock on your door if you fly over their backyard while they’re outside.”

The campaign has Buzzy sharing what the FAA calls “simple but effective rhymes” to convey important safety tips.

Here are some of them:

• “When Buzzy Goes Out for a Flight, the Number One Rule Is Keep Buzzy in Sight”
• “There Are Other Tips For Buzzy And You, But Top Of The List: Keep Buzz In View”

Buzzy has a full social media persona, appearing on the FAA’s Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channel.

And the news has been met with mixed reactions from the drone community. Some cannot stand it:

"Buzzy the Drone"? Really, @FAANews ? That's the best y'all could come up with to represent a tech-driven industry? #facepalm

— 603 Drones, LLC (@603Drones) December 5, 2018

But others seem to want even more:

Buzzy needs it's own Twitter account ??

— IamBob (@BrunsBob) December 5, 2018

I even left it up to my Instagram followers, and there was some interesting feedback in the comments:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

The @faa created a new drone mascot called Buzzy to educate new users on drone safety. What do you think about her? Too cute? Too goofy? Just right? Leave a comment below! #buzzy #faa #drone #safety #drones #uas #dronelife #buzzythedrone #dronegirl #dronesafety #dronestagram

A post shared by Sally French (@thedronegirl) on Dec 8, 2018 at 4:19pm PST

This is not the first time that the industry has seen marketing campaigns around drones.

Earlier this year, major drone industry players, led by the Academy of Model Aeronautics, launched a new marketing campaigned aimed at educating the public on drone laws. Titled “Even the Sky Has Limits: Learn the Drone Laws,” the significantly-less-cute website aimed to clarify the confusing (and often changing) drone laws, and also include posts on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. That campaign was a spinoff from Know Before You Fly, another marketing campaign which was created in 2014 with a similar goal to help drone pilots learn what the drone laws are.

What do YOU think about Buzzy? Too goofy? Or an important step in ensuring drone safety among new drone users? Leave a comment below!