# Product names--what were they thinking? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 1999, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149 "1999-10-27T11:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/21 "1999-10-27T20:24:00Z")
Pardon my errors. Got a squirming baby on my lap and I don’t spell very well with one hand. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/22 "1999-10-27T20:24:00Z")
Now, if they named almost ANY product “Succubus,” they’d have me as a customer for life. * * * Uke ---
**Author:** ![meredith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@meredith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meredith)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/23 "1999-10-27T20:53:00Z")
Coldfire said: > [@](#): > > Off the top of my hat: “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux” (Swedish vaccuumcleaner brand ) Along those lines, when I sold vacuums door to door, one of the lines they taught us was, “All the other vacuums on the market suck…{expectant pause)…but none of them suck like a Kirby!” Never worked, though. * * * meredith “Everybody needs underwear!”-Rob Petrie ---
**Author:** ![wireless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@wireless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wireless)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/24 "1999-10-27T22:07:00Z")
Boris B- “Nova” in Spanish basically means “doesn’t go” and who would buy a car named the “NoGo”? Chevy found this out, much to their chagrin, when they tried (years ago) to market the car in Puerto Rico & Latin America. This is a classic case taught in almost every business school. “Nova” in English means exploding star, which I think is what they were trying to convey: cosmic, powerful, fast, etc. (Or did you know all this already and were jus seeing who would bite? Just call me gullible.) ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/25 "1999-10-27T22:12:00Z")
Yes. A classic case _incorrectly_ taught in almost every business school. [http://snopes.com/errata/nova.htm](http://snopes.com/errata/nova.htm) * * * Livin’ on Tums, Vitamin E and Rogaine ---
**Author:** ![wireless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@wireless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wireless)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/26 "1999-10-27T22:14:00Z")
What we in the USA know as Ivory (the dish soap) is called Fairy in the UK. Somehow I think it was a wise move on P&G’s part to use a different name here. It’s hard enough to get some men to do the dishes without asking them to use the “Fairy liquid”. On a side note, I had a friend (male) who years ago was the British product manager for Fairy at P&G, so he was known at work as “the Fairy man”. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/27 "1999-10-27T22:16:00Z")
Yes Gail,I remember AYDS too.Guess it worked Too good. ---
**Author:** ![wireless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@wireless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wireless)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/28 "1999-10-27T22:16:00Z")
Hey manhattan, thanks for the link! Learned something new. (And I _did_ do this case in b-school, and a good one at that!) ---
**Author:** ![Sylence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@Sylence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylence)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/29 "1999-10-27T22:27:00Z")
Anyone play Zork? “Perma-suck. We don’t make things that suck, we make things that suck _permanently_!” – Sylence * * * And now, for my next trick, I will talk in spooky half-references. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/30 "1999-10-28T02:33:00Z")
IIRC, “Ayds” was called “Diet Ayds” after the name started carrying negative connotations. ("Yes, I lost weight as a result of Ayds.) I wonder if it is still being manufactured. ---
**Author:** ![SqrlCub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SqrlCub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SqrlCub)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/31 "1999-10-28T12:54:00Z")
Several years ago there was a candy that came out around Halloween/Samhain called Yummy Mummies. How gross. Who would want to stick an effigy of a 5000 year old human corpse in their mouth. The candy itself didn’t taste too bad but the packaging and everything else was just plain foul. IIRC they came in a little coffin case and the mummies were inside. YUCK! Sqrl * * * Move over Satan. 😉 Now there’s something meatier. [http://smallwonder.simplenet.com/COC.html](http://smallwonder.simplenet.com/COC.html) ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/32 "1999-10-28T12:55:00Z")
Yes, Black Death cigarettes are still being sold. I’d buy some, but they cost like $5 a pack. There is a shoe store in my town called Imelda’s. That always made me laugh. I don’t know if they had Imelda Marcos in mind or not when they opened it, but it’s still funny. Another least-favorite product name that I’ve just recently been seeing commercials pop up for is a nasal spray called NasalCrom. Is that not the ugliest name in the world? Like quit wiping your nasal crom on the underside of that desk. ---
**Author:** ![WIGGUM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WIGGUM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WIGGUM)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/33 "1999-10-28T14:37:00Z")
I always thought the add campaign for “The Clapper” was awesome, but the best part of it was the phone number to order it. 1-800-THE-CLAP I am currently developing my own product. A breakfast cereal in the shape of tiny penis’ named “Fellati-O’s”. I’m going to make millions. “Snakes don’t have arms. That’s why they don’t wear vests.” --Steven Wright ---
**Author:** ![Sealemon88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Sealemon88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sealemon88)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/34 "1999-10-28T14:52:00Z")
I can’t imagine buying groceries at a place called Piggly Wiggly. * * * You say “cheesy” like that’s a **BAD** thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/35 "1999-10-28T14:56:00Z")
When I was in Tucson a few years back there was a skateboard shop called “Itz PÜP” (notice the umlaut). For some reason, it didn’t last long. “Itchy Foot Moe’s” was much more successful. ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/36 "1999-10-28T14:58:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I thought that shoe (the Incubus) was made by Nike. No, it was Reebok, Aura. Although Nike got into trouble with Muslim groups around the same time for using a logo on their shoes that resembled the word “Allah” in Arabic script. Both shoes are mentioned [here](http://augustachronicle.com/stories/041097/spo_nike.html). * * * Back off, man. I’m a scientist. ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/37 "1999-10-28T15:01:00Z")
Oh, just remembered an email attachment I got one time. It was a picture of a billboard advertising pork. It said: > [@](#): > > Pork > The one you love Don’t mind if I do… * * * Back off, man. I’m a scientist. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/38 "1999-10-28T15:27:00Z")
The joke’s on you, OpalCat. Products called Cat Poo and Dog Poo are so named precisely because of the silliness. We laugh and we remember the name, right? Unintentional humor is best. Near here is a place called **Adcock Prosthetics**. ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/39 "1999-10-28T16:16:00Z")
**wireless** Yes, I was just being silly. I figured someone would bring up the Chevy Nova example and I decided to mess with it in advance. Have you heard about the Ford Pinto? It didn’t sell well in the United States because its name means “explodes mightily when rear-ended even at moderate speeds”! Tee hee! * * * Nothing I write about any person or group should be applied to a larger group. - Boris Badenov ---
**Author:** ![eden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5f9b8f/32.png) [@eden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eden)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149/40 "1999-10-28T16:19:00Z")
Someday I will have to enter a store I pass on the way to work every day: Creative Anatomy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-names-what-were-they-thinking/10149.md?page=3)