Consumer Goods

Blog Archives

+ Names are often a -ve

Posted on December 27, 2019 by Athol

Just as we happily bid farewell to a bad me too product called Google+, new video services come online called Disney + and Apple +. Walt Disney and Steve Jobs must be turning in their graves. Doesn’t management get that…

When one letter is sufficient in compound names

Posted on November 10, 2019 by Athol

Take for example the name : Impulsports. We read at such great speed these days we don’t often notice good spelling or bad spelling. In our minds we do not even notice the phonology – let alone the correct morphology…

ibotta – What an awful name for a shopping app

Posted on September 7, 2019 by Athol

Every so often a name comes along that actually gets some publicity or has the money to promote itself on TV. I was horrified when I first saw this name on a TV commercial. Wow. Launching a new consumer shopping…

French Bee instead of French Blue – except in logo

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Athol

While the current news is sensationalizing the potential airstrikes over the end of August in France and British Isles (and outside Europe too), the budget French airline company is buzzing along nicely amongst happy travellers. They really are flying higher…

$12 million to get their own names back!

Posted on August 17, 2019 by Athol

What is a name worth? The National Park Service (NPS) and their concessionaire Aramark for Yosemite National Park have announced they recently settled their trademark dispute with the former concession licensee Delaware North Corp. (DNC) for a mere total over…

When S evolves as an empowered Z – Sandvoort to Zandvoort

Posted on August 1, 2019 by Athol

Formula One is rife in Europe but Barcelona, Spain has lost its place on the grid to the beach side track in the Netherlands, aka Holland -Zandvoort Circuit. Zandvoort has risen from the dunes as the Dutch eagerly awaits great…

A Tribute to James Burke

Posted on April 5, 2019 by Athol

Those of you old enough to have watched television in the 1980s may remember James Burke, host and driving force behind my all-time favorite science documentary series, Connections. In each episode, Burke would start with some scientific advancement, show how…

“I Think, Therefore I Yam…”

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Athol

“…what I yam.” (A.k.a. “The Descartes-Fleischer Hypothesis of Reflexive Consciousness”) Let’s start this post with a Brighter Naming PSA: give blood! Both Athol and I are blood donors, and occasionally run into each other when the bloodmobile shows up. In…

Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, Food Names, Name Origins, Trademarks

Son of Nomen Est Omen

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Athol

In previous posts, I’ve advanced the idea that a name can be so bad that it’s good. Deliberately or by accident, a name comes out that provokes the reaction: “Well, if they’re using that name and they’re still in business,…

Name of the Week – Hello Sunshine

Posted on December 16, 2018 by Athol

Many years ago I started my first iteration of Name of the Week when I learned that search engines wanted fresh content regularly to maintain your SEO score. And this was long before blogging and social media existed, let alone…