Why Did Esso become Exxon in USA?

[Jinx]

Maybe someone can explain why Esso had to become Exxon, and yet no other station had to change (unless Amoco came from Standard Oil, IIRC]? It had something to do with anti-trust. something about how the parent co couldn’t own the refineries, trucks, AND stations. Maybe someone can explain the history is here, and why it took until the 1970’s for this change to occur. Shouldn’t this have all been settled when the last of the Robber-Barrons ruled the financial world? - Jinx

[astro]

IIRC it was more about trademark restrictions than anti-trust issues. Three slightly different versions.

Texas History

In the 1960s and early 1970s the management of both Humble and Standard Oil of New Jersey had become increasingly concerned about the lack of a unified public corporate identity. At the same time, the other Standard Oil companies were raising objections to the use of the word Esso, derived from the first letters of the words Standard Oil, as the brand name for Humble and Standard of New Jersey gasoline products. In early 1972 Humble and Standard of New Jersey announced that their gasoline products were to be marketed as Exxon, that Standard of New Jersey was changing its name to Exxon Corporation, and that, as of January 1, 1973, Humble was changing its name to Exxon Company, U.S.A.

Exxon Mobil

In 1926, New Jersey Standard introduced the trade name Esso, but was later legally barred from using it in many US states by other Standard Oil companies. Therefore, in 1972, Standard Oil of New Jersey became Exxon, while many foreign affiliates still use the Esso brand name. Standard Oil of New York became Mobil in 1966.

From the horse’s month

Through the 1930s, the two companies each vigorously built up every segment of its business, from production and pipelines to refining and research. They also expanded across the United States and abroad. In 1931, Socony merged with Vacuum Oil Company, an industry pioneer dating back to 1866 and a major Standard Oil spin-off in its own right.

In 1933, Jersey Standard and Socony-Vacuum combined their Asia-Pacific interests into a fully integrated, 50-50 joint venture. Standard-Vacuum Oil Company, or “Stanvac,” operated in 50 countries, from East Africa to New Zealand, before it was dissolved in 1962. World War II interrupted the spirit of expansion, as both companies switched their priorities to fueling and lubricating the Allied war effort.

Global growth resumed in the post-war era of economic prosperity. Corporate names became aligned with better-known trademarks. Socony-Vacuum became Socony Mobil Oil Company in 1955 and simply Mobil Oil Corporation in 1966. A decade later, a newly incorporated Mobil Corporation embraced Mobil Oil as a subsidiary. Jersey Standard changed its name to Exxon Corporation in 1972 and replaced Esso with Exxon as an uncontested trademark throughout the United States. In other parts of the world, Exxon and its petroleum affiliates stuck by the familiar Esso trademark and company name.

[Hail_Ants]

The story of Standard Oil is very long and ridiculously convoluted. Regarding Esso to Exxon:

Esso / Jersey Standard was not happy not being able to market nationwide as Esso. Humble did not have the right zip to it either. Enco had a bad sound or meaning in other languages. (“Stalled Car” is the nicer transliteration I have heard.) The company brainstormed, looking for a new name close to Esso, but with no current meaning in any other languages. They came up with was Exxon. Starting in 1972, Jersey Standard changed its name to Exxon, and re-branded their US stations to this new corporate identity. Esso is still used by the company outside of the United States, but the Standard name was officially gone from the US operations of the former holding company of the Standard Oil Trust.

This comes from this page. Amoco, Chevron, Texaco and others all seem to have come from SO originally!

I seem to remember that the word Exxon was generated randomly by a computer.

[racer72]

I worked as an Esso station at the time of the name change over. The owner of the station did not want to pay for the new signage, it would have cost around $500, so he closed the station and retired instead.

[stockton]

News flash, from an inside source:
There is no Exxon anymore. It’s ExxonMobil.

Anyone remember SOHIO?

[Ringo]

How long until they drop the Mobil and go back to being just Exxon (thinking of the couple of years it took BP-Amoco to finish digesting Amoco and go back to being just BP)?

[Ringo]

Oh yes, and speaking of BP, I do remember Sohio.

[Polycarp]

Cecil dealt with this in a column that appears not have made it into the online archive yet. But in summary, what he said was that when the original Standard Oil Company was broken up into five regional companies (shades of Bell Telephone!), each had the right to use it in particular geographic areas:

Standard Oil of New Jersey, which used Esso (“S.O.” for Standard Oil) in its area and Enco elswhere

Standard Oil of New York (SOCONY), which became Mobil

Standard Oil of Ohio (SOHIO)

Standard Oil of Indiana (which was “Standard” in the Midwest and “American” elsewhere, later becoming AMOCO)

Standard Oil of California (CALSO), which became Chevron

In most if not all cases, the need to market under two names, with consequent lack of brand name carry-over even when the logo could be designed to look approximately alike, led to adoption of a new name.

[Jinx]

Excuse me, Stockton, but I have yet to see one gas station identified as ExxonMobil. And, regarding policies, the companies STILL operate as two distinct companies. Regardless, it’s Esso that became Exxon. And technically, for the record, Esso did not become ExxonMobile. Exxon became ExxonMobile, if only on paper…because the change is virtually transparent to the consumer. - Jinx

[Walloon]

As people in advertising can tell you, “x” in a name adds, well, seX appeal.

[Yossarian]

So, what became of Sohio?

[RealityChuck]

IIRC, when the name was coined they wanted to make sure that it didn’t mean anything in any language. Only one language (Maltese, IIRC), used a double x, so that was a starting point.

They also wanted to clean slate so no one could trademark the name before they did. Some people – the equivalent of cybersquatters – would go from country to country and trademark American trademarks as their own (e.g., going to Italy and trademarking “General Motors”). Exxon didn’t want this to happen, so they made up a name and trademarked it everywhere as a precautiong.

[Cliffy]

*Originally posted by Pantellerite *
**So, what became of Sohio? **

About 10 or 15 years ago all the Sohio stations became BP’s; I assume BP bought the company.

–Cliffy

[Cliffy]

*Originally posted by Ringo *
**How long until they drop the Mobil and go back to being just Exxon (thinking of the couple of years it took BP-Amoco to finish digesting Amoco and go back to being just BP)? **

The joke going around at the time of the merger was “What’s the British English pronounciation of ‘BP-Amoco’?” “Bee-Pee.”

–Cliffy

[Nametag]

In California, Exxon stations are now called “Valero.” I didn’t realize that there were still Exxon stations elsewhere. I guess the Valdez didn’t do so much damage to Exxon’s image in the rest of the U.S…?

[brad_d]

There’s a relatively new (less than a year old) Exxon station in Long Beach, California. Corner of Cherry and Del Amo.

Mobil stations are all over the place here. I’ve never seen a station branded ExxonMobil.

[Mehitabel]

*Originally posted by racer72 *
**I worked as an Esso station at the time of the name change over. The owner of the station did not want to pay for the new signage, it would have cost around $500, so he closed the station and retired instead. **

Whoa. Now that’s a slim profit margin.

It was a shocker seeing an Esso station up in Canada last year. I even took a picture.

My Dad said Exxon stood for the “dirty-double-crossing” oil company, so there’s one bad thing you can say about randomly generated names.

In NY and Massachusetts I still see Exxon stations.

[JohnM]

While I’ve never seen an ExxonMobil branded station, I have been writing out checks to “ExxonMobil MCCBG” for some time now, so the credit operations have been merged. Also, my Mobil SpeedPass works at properly equipped Exxon stations. Does that portend an eventual co-branding of the stations? Probably, if past corporate history is any indication.

BTW, MCCBG is Monogram Credit Card Bank of Georgia, which is used by a number of companies for their credit card collections.

[Skywatcher]

Whatever happened to Standard Oil?

[stockton]

Yes, Jinx, you’re completely right - I just meant that the Exxon umbrella was now (probably temporarily) ExxonMobil. JohnM and others are also correct, there’s no such thing as an ExxonMobil station. I was just (clumsily) pointing out that the “company” had changed names again.

Sorry to be so obtuse. Carry on.