# Really unfortunate brand names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425 "2003-02-20T23:14:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/1 "2003-02-20T23:14:17Z")
I was in London Drugs (a large Canadian chain drugstore) the other day and came across this product: _ **Bowel Buddy** _ [http://www.abundnce.com/frame\_pages/bowelbuddy.aspx](http://www.abundnce.com/frame_pages/bowelbuddy.aspx) Any other real-life products you’ve seen that really should have a different name? ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/2 "2003-02-20T23:16:02Z")
Drat. Should probably have put this in IMHO. Sorry! If a mod happens to drop by, could you kindly move if required? ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/3 "2003-02-20T23:50:23Z")
Pirate’s Booty ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/4 "2003-02-20T23:52:42Z")
So, what was a _Pirate’s Booty_? ---
**Author:** ![njufoic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/278dde/32.png) [@njufoic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njufoic)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/5 "2003-02-20T23:57:51Z")
Well, everybody’s heard the one about the Chevy Nova (“doesn’t go”) being sold in Spanish-speaking countries. I’m told that the name actually didn’t bother Spanish speakers, on the grounds that “no funciona” is a more normal phrase when describing a machine not working, and the car sold pretty well. But there’s another good one like that: Colgate toothpaste. “Colgate” (prounounced “colga-tay”) means “hang yourself” in Spanish. I have a hard time believing that wouldn’t affect sales. I’d think that Spanish speakers would consider it a little disturbing. -Andrew L ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/6 "2003-02-21T00:37:21Z")
Pirate’s Booty is a snack food. Puffed (corn, I think) that’s flavored with a white cheddar flavor. There is also Veggie Booty and Fruity Booty. Check out a snack review… > **[Pirate's Booty](https://www.taquitos.net/cheese_puffs/PiratesBooty)** > > Pirate Brands snack - one of 434 cheese puffs reviewed by Taquitos.net's snackers. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/7 "2003-02-21T00:39:24Z")
Well, there was once a diet product call “Aids”. Also, I have often wondered what the folks at the “Shine-ola” company think of the unfortunate turn of events. * * * Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/8 "2003-02-21T00:40:03Z")
Mach III Turbo Sounds like a fricken jet fighter, not an expensive razor. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/9 "2003-02-21T00:40:04Z")
I posted this in another thread but here is my favorite: [Anusol](http://www.mypharmacy.co.uk/medicines/medicines/a/anusol/anusol.htm) Why can’t hemmoroid medicines have soft, pretty names that evoke beaches or the fall woods. You know, like douche. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/10 "2003-02-21T00:44:28Z")
> [@](#): > > But there’s another good one like that: Colgate toothpaste. “Colgate” (prounounced “colga-tay”) means “hang yourself” in Spanish. I have a hard time believing that wouldn’t affect sales. I’d think that Spanish speakers would consider it a little disturbing. I asked my mother, a Spanish teacher, and she said that “colgar” is a stem-changing verb, and would be “cuelgate.” ---
**Author:** ![No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/no_me_ayudes_compadre/32/5224_2.png) [@No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Me_Ayudes_Compadre)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/11 "2003-02-21T01:04:47Z")
They’d use the form “colgate” as the familiar imperative tense in Argentina. Everywhere else it would be “cuélgate.” In any case, at least in Mexico, noboby typically associates the Colgate brand with hanging. There’s a brand of popsicle here called Dedo (finger), which is arguably in the shape of a pointing hand. One of the varieties is cola flavored… in addition to referring to the soft drink flavor, “cola” is a common term for ass. And the packaging does say Dedo sabor cola, or “ass-flavored finger.” ---
**Author:** ![BadBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@BadBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBaby)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/12 "2003-02-21T01:05:29Z")
Bimbo brand pastries! I have their Bimbo Bear doll sitting on my monitor at work and he makes me smile every time I look at him. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/13 "2003-02-21T01:13:11Z")
A friend tells me that in Dublin, GA, there’s a drug store owned by a family named Strange, which is therefore called Strange Drugs. In Athens, GA, there used to (and may still) be a Normal Drugs in an area called Normaltown, I forget why. By the way, Snopes debunks the Chevy Nova thing: > [@](#): > > Assuming that Spanish speakers would naturally see the word “nova” as equivalent to the phrase “no va” and think “Hey, this car doesn’t go!” is akin to assuming that English speakers would spurn a dinette set sold under the name _Notable_ because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn’t include a table. [http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.htm](http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/14 "2003-02-21T01:30:58Z")
I thought the “Kum & Go” gas stations in Iowa were a little odd. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/15 "2003-02-21T01:38:13Z")
In England there’s a popular dessert called Spotted Dick. ---
**Author:** ![Skid\_Row](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/779978/32.png) [@Skid\_Row](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skid_Row)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/16 "2003-02-21T02:00:45Z")
What a surreal moment! I frequented Strange’s Drugs (actually Strange’s Pharmacy) while in Tifton, Georgia, during college. I spent many a weekend in Athens hitting clubs in the Normaltown section. (Home of a very under-rated 80’s Athens band called The Normaltown Flyers.) …and I have a can of Heinz Microwavable Spotted Dick Sponge Pudding on my desk (compliments of my best friend’s trip to the mother country). ---
**Author:** ![njufoic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/278dde/32.png) [@njufoic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njufoic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/17 "2003-02-21T02:04:03Z")
Ah, I guess I should have thought a little harder about the Colgate anecdote…I was a fairly decent Spanish speaker at one time, so it should have occurred to me that “cuelgate” is in fact correct there. Although I did hear this story from a Spanish teacher…either she was taking some creative liberties, or she was familiar with the Argentinian dialect that **El Mariachi Loco** mentioned. I did remember a few car names that leave me wondering what they were thinking. There’s the Mitsubishi Mirage (it only _looks_ like a real car), the Ford Aspire (it’s not a real car yet, but it hopes to be one someday!) and then the new Volkswagen Touareg, which just violates the basic rule that a product name should be pronounceable. -Andrew L ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/18 "2003-02-21T02:06:49Z")
Well, this isn’t a brand name, exactly, but. . .here in the mountains of western Maryland, there is a small town called Accident, MD. (really). There is a car repair shop in Accident, called, no kidding, The Accident Garage. The commercials always make me giggle, even though they play them perfectly straight (Bring you Chevy, Ford, Jeep or Dodge to the Accident, Accident Garage!). I think if I wrote the ads, I’d have fun with the name! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/19 "2003-02-21T04:46:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skid Row \* > **I spent many a weekend in Athens hitting clubs in the Normaltown section. (Home of a very under-rated 80’s Athens band called The Normaltown Flyers.)** I went to UGA, left Athens in '95, and I think the Flyers were still around at that time. I definitely recall hearing about them (as clearly as I remember anything from my college days, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425/20 "2003-02-21T05:58:27Z")
Does anyone remember the **Ayds** appetite suppression candy? It was on the market before AIDS became prevalent. I don’t remember if the product was renamed or discontinued altogether afterwards. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-unfortunate-brand-names/156425.md?page=2)