( CNN ) -- Aliens have taken over London and the invasion is gathering pace . First it was YouTube clips , then appearances with the mayor . Now they 're on the shelves of every corner shop and immortalized in statues across the city . Or at least that 's how visitors to the Olympics might imagine the futuristic , one-eyed creatures plastered on everything from key rings to double-decker buses . They are of course London 2012 's Olympic and Paralympic mascots -- Wenlock and Mandeville . And with the Games just days away you 'd better get used to seeing a whole lot more of that giant eyeball . With their metallic bodies , built-in cameras and sci-fi genetics , it 's an ambitious design aimed at the digital age . But does it work ? Are these otherworldly creatures the cutting edge of design or just plain creepy ? Described as everything from `` a drunken one-night stand between a Teletubby and a Dalek , '' to having `` just the right balance of digital zeitgeist and cheeky playfulness , '' it seems people still are n't quite sure what to make of London 2012 's mascots . Cute and cuddly they ai n't . Waldi the Daschund set the standard for cute and cuddly animals as the first mascot at the 1972 Munich Games . Likewise Moscow opted for the adorable , if unimaginative , Mishka the Bear in 1980 . The Olympic mascot has always been aimed at children -- and the wallets of their parents . But it 's also an embodiment of the host city 's personality and a lasting legacy of its Games . Driving all of this is a massive merchandise operation . Sure , Wenlock and Mandeville need to look good -- but they also need to sell . LOCOG are hoping to make £80 million ( $ 124 million ) from merchandise sales alone . `` I think they started as a pretty ambitious pair with real potential to be used across a new medium -- social media . But I do n't think they 've pulled it off completely , '' Mark Sinclair , deputy editor of London design magazine , Creative Review , told CNN . `` I do n't think people have been able to warm to them because they 're kind of severe looking with this massive eye . Maybe that 's what 's alienated people because they ca n't quite get a handle on what they are . `` They 're missing a little bit of soul . '' 4 billions reasons to watch the Olympics . Right . So what are they ? But maybe that 's just the response from an `` older , stuffier generation , '' as Wenlock and Mandeville co-designer Grant Hunter told CNN . The pair were designed by marketing agency Iris and named after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock , which helped inspire Pierre de Coubertin to launch the modern Olympics , and the Buckinghamshire village of Stoke Mandeville , where the Paralympics were founded . Supposedly created out of magical droplets of steel left over from the Olympic Stadium , every element of their design is laden with symbolism . The taxi lights on their heads refer to London 's black cabs and their origins from a steel melting pot are likened to multicultural Britain . Their distinctive giant eyes even have built-in cameras to record their experiences . Though in a country with one of the highest number of CCTV cameras in the world , this particular symbolism may be a little too close to home . The children 's mascot . But perhaps the most important critic is the children they were created for . `` The brief stated , 'Inspire young people to get involved with sport . ' We judge the success by the response of young people to our creations , '' Hunter said . `` If you look at sites like the BBC 's CBBC you 'll see the overwhelming positive feedback that Wenlock and Mandeville have received . When you have eight-year-olds saying how cool they look and they want them to visit their school , we know we 've done our job . '' Mechanical objects are no less endearing than wide-eyed animals , Hunter argues , pointing to the success of Disney 's Wall-E. As nine-year-old Sunil said on the CBBC website : `` I think the mascots are really cool because they look like amazing robots . '' 10 strangest Olympic sports . Sinister spoofs . Some adults are n't so convinced . When Wenlock figurines dressed in police uniforms appeared on Amazon , quick-witted reviewers saw it as an opportunity to deride the `` creepy '' toy . `` I bought this product amidst my keenness for the Games of the XXX Olympiad , '' one reviewer posted . `` However when it arrived it knocked down the door in a raid , pinned me down and falsely arrested me for conspiring a bomb plot for mass murder during this summer 's sporting events . '' With the army being called in to help boost security amid the G4S crisis , and residents complaining about anti-terror missiles on their rooftops , there 's already been a huge focus on London 's perceived heavy-handedness in the buildup to the Games . It 's an unfortunate context for Wenlock and Mandeville , as Sinclair jokes : `` Seeing that eye you 're reminded you 're on your best behavior , looking over your shoulder to make sure you 're not wearing a Nike t-shirt in the venue . '' Twitter Olympics . Regardless of your opinion on their design , there 's no denying Wenlock and Mandeville 's impressive social media credentials . As momentum builds around the first `` Twitter Olympics , '' London 's mascots are well equipped with their own Twitter accounts , Facebook pages , YouTube clips and interactive website . `` We felt that previous mascots had been one-dimensional and had followed a predictable path . We knew that to connect with young people we had to create characters designed for the digital age , '' Hunter said . How history remembers them is yet to be seen . What readers think about the mascots .
Introducing Wenlock and Mandeville : London 2012 's Olympic poster-creatures . `` Digital age '' mascots feature giant eyes , metallic finish and sci-fi genetics . Are they the cutting edge of design or just plain creepy ? Product launch sparks spoof reviews on Amazon of sinister toys taking over .