The alternative Olympic logos - which cost £400,000 less than the official symbol

In a straw poll (entirely unscientific) conducted by the Mail's sister newspaper, the Evening Standard, a number of logos were shown to people in London, where the Games will take place.

One was the official emblem, designed by brand consultants Wolff Olins, while the rest were knocked up by amateurs and posted on websites within hours of the launch.

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Alternative: These are the preferred Olympic logos which include Ricky Gervais's dance, a Tube map, 2012 as an athlete, the London Eye, Olympic typeface and a world of sport.

The reaction was not exactly a resounding endorsement for the real logo - described by some as "a punk swastika" or "a toileting monkey".

Vanessa Pope, 23, a PA from Kingston-upon-Thames, said: "I prefer the amateur logos to the official version. The real one is hideously ugly and nonsensical."

Artist Ben Pettican, 24, from Clapham, said: "The amateur versions do have some imagination. But the official logo looks too rave-like. It might seem contemporary, but it's not going to last five years."

Claire Grierson, 34, an analyst from Chislehurst, said: "I like the majority of the logos by ordinary people. The design agency probably went through a lot of consultations, but their logo is gaudy."

It did find some supporters, however.

Charlie Hoult, chief executive of branding agency Loewy, said: "The new logo is great. Brash. Punky. Fresh. Controversial. And mostly it says Cool Britannia. Tick. Big tick in my book. Without an outcry it wouldn't have been a statement."

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The campaign against the design has been gathering pace since it was unveiled.

An online protest has gained the support of about 12,000 people, with some 50 groups on social networking site Facebook lobbying for it to be scrapped.

Such is the backlash that dozens of alternative logos have been posted online by the public. One of the most popular is by James Wren, showing the five coloured rings merged into a simple black London typeface.

The slogan, "We've got the Olympics in us", was a hit with readers on the BBC News website where it was posted.

Other highly regarded amateur offerings include Wayne Gardner's bright orange 2012 with the Olympic rings superimposed over the London Eye.

An anonymous poster has a running man using the digits of the date - again with the traditional red, yellow, green, black and red rings, whose absence in the official logo has been criticised. Another amateur design uses the rings to incorporate a globe and stadium.

Other logos featured landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament and St Paul's. A more outlandish offering depicting comedian Ricky Gervais won fans as well.