So I was cleaning out my shower caddy this weekend, and Inoticed something a little odd. To whit, many of the shampoos, conditioners, lotions and the like had french names and/or labels and instructions in french. This seems odd, as all of these products were made in the US, by American companies. What gives? Do the French or Canadians buy a lot of our beauty products? Or is there some link in people’s minds that associates the French language or culture with beauty?
The second one. Marketing types often go for faux French or faux Swiss names for those products over here too.
In the same way I’ve noticed cheap electronics companies often give Japanese- or Korean-sounding names to their stuff. I’m sure you could think of other exampes of nationalities you would tend to associate with particular expertise or experience.