August 1, 2013
Given our culture’s ambivalence towards female sexuality, creating brand names for menstrual products poses a conundrum for U.S. marketers, provoking either squeamishness or bravado. Witness some of their names, which either attempt to sanitize their prosaic offerings (StayfreeDry Max, RepHresh Brilliant), romanticize them (Diva Cup, Luna Pads, Tampax Radiant), or even lionize them (Moxie, Party […]
April 25, 2011
In the midst of the current financial wreckage, the big news is about a big buyout: the New York Stock Exchange is gonna get bought. At the moment it’s not clear who the new owners will be – the German exchange Deutsche Börse or the homegrown NASDAQ. And of course everyone is wondering about the […]
December 7, 2010
Today’s lesson is about language use, and more specifically, how to use a swear word correctly. I am usually a fan of Progressive’s commercials, starring the ever-cheerful Flo; they’re short and funny, and while I don’t believe for a second that Progressive actually does allow you to “name your own price” for auto insurance, I […]
August 4, 2010
This item was originally published on July 30th, 2010 at Fast Company. I love those Kia hamsters. The first commercial showed a trio of hammies tooling around in their Kia Soul while the rest of the world ran in stationary wheels; it was cute and clever and made a nice statement about the cool factor […]
July 30, 2010
A tagline is a tricky little beast. It needs to get right to the heart of the brand and do so in a way that’s intuitive, memorable and absolutely pitch perfect. In very few words. (Like Fed Ex’s old “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.” Or Nike’s iconic “Just do it” which […]
April 8, 2010
Have you seen Burger King’s new commercial? The one where they blatantly admit to copying McDonalds? Here, watch: I almost didn’t believe that this was a real Burger King commercial. I thought maybe McDonald’s was lampooning BK. But no, it really is a Burger King commercial. What’s amazing is that this ad depicts their royal […]
February 12, 2010
Some say it with flowers. Others, with chocolates. And then there are those who prefer more stimulating tokens of their affection. So in the holiday vibe, this Valentine’s Day the brand naming specialists at Catchword decided to take a look at some of the sex toy stores around the country, and the way their brand […]
August 31, 2009
Via the AP at SFGate: 08-30) 12:25 PDT STOCKHOLM, (AP) — Ikea, the Swedish furniture chain, said Sunday it never expected such a backlash after switching typeface in its latest catalog. The company’s decision to make its first such font change in 50 years — from the iconic Futura typeface to the Verdana one — […]
July 8, 2009
As we here at Catchword have pointed out numerous times (here, here, here, and here) we can’t stand the new SyFy brand name. However, we are willing to give credit where credit is due. The SyFy name officially belly-flopped onto the scene yesterday. While I was watching Highlander: The Source, I was surprised by the quality […]
September 29, 2008
It turns out that it’s not as simple as translating your product branding into the language of the place where you’re going to sell the thing. A recent study published in the Journal of Consumer Research tested the effectiveness of marketing for different products with college students in New Delhi. Packaging copy was written in […]