We heard through the grapevine that a retailer in Texas is offering a huge cash reward to the naming and branding genius who can name the store. What would you do with all that wampum?
Posted by
abnu on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 @ 4:16 PM
[ + ]
In case you haven't heard, "a growing cabal of 'food cops,' health care enforcers, militant activists, meddling bureaucrats, and violent radicals who think they know 'what's best for you' are pushing against our basic freedoms." In our defense, The Center for Consumer Freedom is "pushing back" with a new ad:
"No food for you!" barks the actor who played the "Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld. Our humorous TV ad gives a familiar face to the growing cabal of calorie curmudgeons trying to forcibly slim you down through regulation, taxation and litigation.
In Canada, freedom of choice is also held in high regard. There, big tobacco companies are coming to the assistance of smokers, who are being pushed to the margins of society. Customer-focused tobacco companies have coughed up a couple of million dollars to fund a "not for profit" initiative that's all about My Choice.
And yes, mychoice.ca is financed entirely by the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers’ Council. A serious website and online association requires funding, and it is natural for industries to support their customers. In the case of smokers, it is not as if there are a lot of other choices available.
But this is not an industry or company website. This is an online association for those who choose to smoke. It is about you.
Big Tobacco is committed to "restoring common sense, balance and civility to the way Canada's adult smokers are treated by their federal, provincial and municipal politicians." Hopefully, there's money in the budget to get some sort of Seinfeld advertisement on the website.
% Kramer lights cigar.
George: Hey, hey. Kramer, what are you doing? You can't smoke in here.
Kramer: No, come on. (Larry the cook comes over)
Larry: Take it outside.
Kramer: Come on, Larry. You know me.
Larry: It bothers people, and it's against the law.
Jerry: You can make all the laws you want, he's still gonna bother people.
Martha Stewart has a new identity: she's now federal inmate Number 55170-054. At precisely 10:08:47 EDT on September 27, 2004, before she had time to embroider her number on her pillow case or tattoo it on her shoulder (depending on which satirical website is reporting the news), some bottom-feeding, scum-sucking, money-grubbing cyberpirate registered 55170-054.com.
Welcome to Ultimate Magazines. With 500+ unique domain names, all directed to either the front of the entertainment magazine group, or to a magazine, within. Each has a wide range of topics including, celebrities, travel, music, sports, movies, and hundreds of others. Featuring original photo stories and editorial presented in a visual, edgy and contemporary style. A showcase of interesting things, with photos, movies, animation, games, music, special effects etc. For all ages. No sex or violence, so it is family friendly.
Nice. How come it's so easy for these sleazeballs to beat the teams of lawyers and public relations professionals protecting the Empress of Omnimedia?
On a positive note, Martha's brand managers might be pleased that the happy homemaker will be lodging at Camp Cupcake rather than Club Fed.
Posted by
abnu on Monday, September 27, 2004 @ 7:44 PM
[ + ]
Now, Liz Dubelman and Paca Thomas are bringing their award-winning experience in filmmaking and audio production to the art of storytelling on the internet with a new concept they call VidLit. I'll let Liz tell you about VidLit in her own words. There's a lot of entertainment here folks, but this is the CRAZIEST.
Posted by
abnu on Saturday, September 25, 2004 @ 6:44 PM
[ + ]
It was only a matter of time, and money, before Donald Trump hooked up with Estee Lauder to create a new fragrance for Aramis. The story will be all over the news by the time you read this.
"We are excited to work with Mr. Trump, whose commitment to excellence and desire for perfection is unparalleled," said CEO William Lauder in a written statement. "We feel that Mr. Trump and Aramis are a winning combination of two global brands."
Names like Aragent, Your Fire, and Fragrante Delicto were tossed around the boardroom before the Donald finally settled on Donald Trump, The Fragrance. Negotiations for a hair spray deal are on permanent hold.
Posted by
abnu on Friday, September 24, 2004 @ 1:36 AM
[ + ]
FCUK the logo: Adrants comments on recent news that French Connection UK is dropping its acronym. In new adverts, FCUK appears to be suggesting a no logo approach to announcing the end of that marque. Adrants says:
There's a problem with this approach though. At some point, French Connection will launch another brand to replace its FCUK acronym and the company will be back where it started - influencing people with great big, offensive logos.
There's every hint on the flash animation intro to the FCUK website, and the title of the television spot posted by Adrants, that the new name might be something beginning with f. Or, the new brand just might be an innocuous little f. Don't blink or you'll miss the little f tag in the graffiti--just before the "buy our denim" message.
Posted by
abnu on Thursday, September 23, 2004 @ 9:55 PM
[ + ]
Wendell Peters' company, Pickled Pete's Pickle Packery, Inc., makes and sells hot sauces and other products that poke fun at America's judicial system. Peters is the self-styled "Chief Shyster" behind a line of hot sauces with names judiciously borrowed from legal jargon. Fearless of hot products liability, he taunts, "So Sue Me."
The Judicial Flavors sauces mock Peters' own profession with names like barbecue "Shyster Sauce," "Lawyer's Breath" hot sauce, "Contempt of Court" pepper sauce, and "Under the Influence" tomatillo sauce. According to an article in Entrepreneur Illustrated, reproduced in full on his website, his profession is a big part of his saucy success.
And while there are a literally millions of labels fighting for consumer attention in the fiery foods industry, Peters says his law-oriented theme, combined with the fact that he is a lawyer, tends to startle people when he displays his products at shows. "They buy them once for the label, then they buy them again and again because they're so good," he says.
"For an attorney to get into this market and do all of the line-building and creation on his own is quite an accomplishment," says Kathy Stanley' Master distributor . "We get very good response from the Judicial Flavors' line. It's very strange to see an attorney bashing his own industry, and that's exactly why it sells."
Peters, who still practices law in Auburn, California, says his colleagues in the legal profession have been very supportive of his hot little business venture. “They are all rooting for me to get over the wall,” he says, laughing. "They say 'You can do it, Wendell! Be free!'"
Posted by
abnu on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 @ 5:54 AM
[ + ]
North American television ads for Jaguar seem to take pains these days to pronounce the British car manufacturer's name correctly. Apparently, this makes Jags sound like fancy imported cars, now that the legendary Coventry marque is owned by Ford Motor Company.
But Jaguar is not the only car company whose corporate name or model names are mispronounced by many--if not most--of their customers. As featured in the last twoissues of AAA's Westways magazine online, some common mispronunciations of car company names and car model names were compiled by the editors of the Kelley Blue Book.
Frequently Mispronounced Car Company Names
Audi
* Correct pronunciation: Ow-dee * Frequent mispronunciations: Aw-dee, Ah-dee * August Horch founded Audi in 1909. Why "Audi"? It's "Horch" translated into Latin.
Hyundai
* Correct pronunciation: Hun-day * Pronunciation used by 99.9 percent of consumers: Hun-dye
Isuzu
* Correct pronunciation: Ee-su-zu (preferred), I-su-zu (acceptable) * Frequent mispronunciations: Eye-su-zu, Ee-zu-su * Just think "Susan" and you'll have it.
Jaguar
* Correct (i.e., British) pronunciation: Jag-yu-wahr * American pronunciation: Jag-wahr (unacceptable, but tolerated by the company as long as the person is interested in buying the car) * Frequent mispronunciation: Jag-wyre
Porsche
* Correct pronunciation: Por-shah * Frequent mispronunciation: Porsh * "Porsche" is the surname of the company's founder, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, which is one reason Porsche aficionados are almost rabidly intolerant of anyone who mispronounces the name.
Scion
* Correct pronunciation: Sye-on * Frequent mispronunciations: Sky-ahn, Skee-ahn * "Scion" means "descendant" or "heir," which makes sense since Toyota is the parent company.
Volvo
* Correct pronunciation: Vuhl-voh * Frequent mispronunciations: Vol-voh, Vall-voh, Voh-voh * Why "vuhl" and not "vol"? It's another one of those Latin words (see "Audi," above). "Volvo" in Latin means "I rotate."
* Correct pronunciation: Mur-ah-noh * Frequent mispronunciations: Mur-ay-noh, Myur-ah-noh * Named after the elegantly sculpted Italian glass.
(Volkswagen) Phaeton
* Correct (i.e., British) pronunciation: Fay-tun * Frequent mispronunciation: Fay-uh-tun, Fee-tun, Pay-toon * The name comes from Greek mythology and symbolizes the desire to tread new paths. A VW that can top out near 100 large? That qualifies as a new path.
(Toyota) Prius
* Correct pronunciation: Pree-us * Frequent mispronunciation: Prye-is * From the Latin word meaning "preview" or "to go before."
(Buick) Terraza
* Correct pronunciation: Ter-ah-zah * Frequent mispronunciations: Ter-ay-zah * Buick reportedly chose this name for its new van because consumers said the name conveyed a sense of luxury, ruggedness, comfort, and strength.
(Volkswagen) Touareg
* Correct pronunciation: Toor-eg * Frequent mispronunciations: Toh-ar-eg, Toh-ar-eg * Named after a nomadic tribe that lives in the Sahara Desert. The word literally means "free folk."
[We had more to say about the Touareg name last year in this post on Wordlab.]
The editors of Westways add these notes:
The plural for "Lexus" is "Lexuses," not "Lexi." And, according to Rob Mitchell, director of corporate communications for BMW, the nickname for a car made by BMW is "Beemer" (never "Beamer"), first used with BMW motorcycles. "Bimmer" (pronounced the way it looks) is a frequently used (and acceptable) alternative.
Incidentally, Jaguar began as a "model" name for a William Lyons' SS automobiles, which had a Swallow design on a chassis built by Standard Motor Company, with a Standard engine. Swallow/Standard, SS, get it? According to the Company History on Jaguar's website:
In 1935 the "Jaguar" name sprang upon the scene for the first time with a completely new saloon and sports car range. ... For the new chassis and engine unit, Lyons designed a fresh body style, less flamboyant than previous models, yet still stylish. Indeed it was closer to contemporary Bentleys which cost nearly four times the price! Sophistication was increasing, and now customers were offered four doors for the first time on an SS. Indeed so different were the new models that it was felt that a new model name was needed. The Company´s advertising agency suggested "Jaguar" and though Lyons took some persuading, it was finally adopted. Thus the new cars would be known as SS Jaguars. The "Jaguar" name was an ideal choice for feline grace and elegance, combining docility with remarkable power and agility. The cars have matured and developed to justify the analogy in every way.
Congratulations to the Guardian on the launch of its new newsblog, from which we got the idea for this post.
Posted by
abnu on Monday, September 20, 2004 @ 11:25 AM
[ + ]
What's in a name? Calling him a danger to the community for dealing in child pornography and stealing hundreds of identities, a Washington County judge on Wednesday sentenced Richard Earl Bighouse to more than 20 years in the you-know-what, according to the story in The Oregonian. You'd think that a so-called identity theft expert would have changed his name to Richard Earl.
Posted by
abnu on Saturday, September 18, 2004 @ 10:45 PM
[ + ]
Crazy Ron's had some problems with his name. SANE Australia complained that Crazy Ron's television advertisements "depicted a person in a straitjacket behaving in a manner which trivialised and mocked people with a mental illness." The ads were discontinued.
And there are reports from the land of Oz that the mobile phone company last year was ordered by a Federal Court to rename its Crazy Ron's mobile phone stores because the name was too similar to Crazy John's.
Mad Ron's company was back in court again this year after an advertisement appeared in the 2004-2005 Melbourne and Sydney Yellow Pages, using the Crazy Ron's name to direct customers to its new Mad Ron's listing. The company was fined $50,000 for contempt of court, and apologized.
Posted by
abnu on Thursday, September 16, 2004 @ 1:01 AM
[ + ]
When I can't Believe it's not Butter!™ introduced the word "butter" in the brand name of its spread, in 1991, there was a great controversy. Now there's churn style Boy Butter, available at fine drugstores everywhere on the internet. Do not refrigerate.
Posted by
abnu on Wednesday, September 15, 2004 @ 11:17 AM
[ + ]
Things seem to be going from bad to worse in the efforts to rebrand Baghdad. Changing the name of Saddam City, the infamous slum district of Iraq's capital, to Sadr City hasn't quelled the insurgents. So, the naming engineers in the military marketing department are thinking of re-re-re-naming the district "Thawra" as it was called before Saddam Hussein re-named it for himself. Anybody know what thawra means?
Posted by
abnu on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 @ 10:00 PM
[ + ]
This ain't no antidisestablishmentarianism: Finding, or trying to create, the longest word in the English language is a tantalizing quest.
An old joke holds smiles is the longest word, since there is a mile between the first and last letter. While not found in any ordinary dictionary, Chemical compounds such as trioxymethylanthraquinonic and aminoheptafluorocyclotetraphosphonitrile have their place in the sun. But it is the middle names of Hawaiian women that are often remarkably long as well as beautifully poetic.
My favorite is that of a girl baptized in Honolulu in 1967, when she was given the middle name of 100 letters: Napaumohalaenaenaamekawehiwehionakuahiwiamenaawawakehoomake hoaalakeeaonaainananiakeaohawaiiikawanaao. Loosely translated, the name means: "The fragrant abundant beautiful blossoms begin to fill the air of the hills and valleys throughout the length and breadth of these glorious Hawaiian Islands at dawn."
Source: The Oxford Guide to Word Games; 1984
Posted by
Michael Davey on Monday, September 13, 2004 @ 1:39 PM
[ + ]
We look back, moment by moment, and browse through The September 11 Digital Archives, to honor and remember those who lost their lives in the destruction of the World Trade Center, in New York City; never forgetting the attack on the Pentagon, and those who died there, and those who valiantly fought the terrorists and died in a field in Pennsylvania.
As we look back at that infamous day called 9/11, we can also look forward in hope for the future through the eyes of Project Rebirth, which is using time-lapse photography to document the day-by-day rebuilding of a new Freedom Tower at ground zero.
Six 35mm time-lapse motion picture cameras, situated around the site since the six-month anniversary of 9/11, will continue to shoot one frame of film every five minutes, seven days a week, until this historic reconstruction is completed. This technology will enable the public to view the entire reconstruction within a twenty-minute time span. The final film is intended for a future museum memorial installation.
Posted by
abnu on Saturday, September 11, 2004 @ 9:06 AM
[ + ]
Baby Batter Up: The technology weblog, Engadget, links to a new fertility test designed especially for men: eleMENt™. This handy little tool with the smiley receptacle looks more user-friendly than the Lady-Comp, for women.
The Lady-Comp--a little bigger than a CD player--is a computer that measures a woman's body temperature first thing in the morning and attempts to alert the user to her ovulation cycle using a "traffic-light" system. (Right there, I see problems with this thing.) It's marketed as a birth control device, not a fertility test like the men's gadget.
Neither high-tech solution is foolproof for contraception. Aren't these cute?
Posted by
abnu on Friday, September 10, 2004 @ 7:01 AM
[ + ]
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree: With many design features similar to Apple's all-new iMac G5, the PUTA is a new and different computer from Atacama in England.
The PUTA is the world’s simplest computer to own and operate. You can hang it on a wall, place on a desktop or mount on an arm above your workspace. Clean, sleek and contemporary in design it is the perfect solution for providing elegant computer access. There are no cables, the keyboard and mouse are wireless and the screen responds instantaneously to touch input. Simple and intuitive to operate, this is a state of the art, powerful computer that is whisper quiet in operation.
"Where's abnu?" Wordlab fans might ask, "Where's quark?" Is he the Q of Quark International? Who knows? He keeps such a low profile.
"Even shopping at Quark International, one of the world's leading spy shops, can be a covert operation. I press the buzzer at 537 Third Avenue, mid-town New York, and, having been scrutinized, am buzzed in. The attractive, lab-coated girl at reception inquires as to my business." - GQ
Me? I'm just hanging out in the Legal Underground for a day, writing a Wordlab-styled "guest post" about a lawyer who really understands naming and branding.
Posted by
Michael Davey on Tuesday, September 07, 2004 @ 2:16 PM
[ + ]
It's the words, stupid: Googling for the text of President Bush's speech to the GOP Convention, I found this inexplicable result:
Text of President Bush's speech to the Democratic National ... Friday, September 3, 2004. Text of President Bush's speech to the Democratic National Convention. The Associated Press. [Note: The erroneous reference to "Democratic" was corrected to read "Republican" after this was posted.]
And, in an analysis that some might find sorely lacking, the New York Times compiled a graphic that shows the words speakers used in their speeches at the DNC and RNC conventions. The word "nukular" was said only once, as I recall, but the researchers didn't include the President's speech in the analysis, anyway--possibly confused as to where he was going to be speaking. So, they missed these important words from Bush's speech: "And now we have reached a time for hope."
Which reminds me, "Hope is on the way."
Posted by
abnu on Sunday, September 05, 2004 @ 9:07 AM
[ + ]
Don't know why, there's no sun up in the sky; stormy weather: Alex, Bonnie, Charley...who's next? Danielle. Earl. Frances. Ever wonder how tropical storms are named?
Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Center and now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. The lists featured only women's names until 1979, when men's and women's names were alternated. Six lists are used in rotation. Thus, the 2004 list will be used again in 2010.
The only time that there is a change in the list is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity. If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the WMO committee (called primarily to discuss many other issues) the offending name is stricken from the list and another name is selected to replace it.
For information about major storms in the offing, refer to the National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service. The word "hurricane" comes from the Spanish huracán, from Taíno hurakán "god of the storm."
Posted by
abnu on Friday, September 03, 2004 @ 5:45 PM
[ + ]
Posted by
abnu on Thursday, September 02, 2004 @ 8:37 AM
[ + ]
Flash! This Just In:Vegetarian Rhapsody, produce by Benny the broccoli, Peppy the pepper, and Tomaso the tomato. Fans and animation fanatics will find more wicked cool stuff at Brainwash Studios.
In other news, a Catholic college has complained about new candy wrappers it claims portray fruit in sexual positions. [Note: Abnu was fooled by Ananova, the most busted name in news. Full marks to Margaret at Transblawg, for letting us know by email that the "complaint" was a prank by German students. Good one!]
Posted by
abnu on Wednesday, September 01, 2004 @ 4:30 AM
[ + ]
Note the cool Fine Print: The content found on WordLab
is free to the world. Although we cannot guarantee that any of this
content is not already in use by someone, somewhere, on this planet
who may have seen it on this Web site or created it independently of
our Web site, we have made a reasonable effort to give you what we believe
to be original names and slogans and generally good stuff. Use what
you will of our content since it is here for the taking. However, if
you decide to use one of our names for a commercial activity, and since
we have no assurance that the name may not already be in use by someone
else as a trademark, domain name or otherwise, we strongly suggest that
you take appropriate legal precautions, such as seeing a lawyer. In
short, any necessary due diligence is up to you, but we at least make
no claims on your potential future dream name. We merely ask that if
you do decide to use any of our content, that you please send us an
email ["word at wordlab dot com"] about it for use in our
internal records and eplosive marketing campaigns. Thank you, and enjoy.
