I know that’s a terrible subject but I couldn’t think of a more concise way of saying what I meant. Hopefully the examples will make it clear:
For a long long time the term “Black Friday” was just (false?) trivia about the day after Thanksgiving. “You know retailers call it ‘black Friday’ because that’s the day they start making a profit”. The day after Thanksgiving didn’t really have a name. Now it does have a name that everyone knows and have essentially become official.
Growing up Dunkin’ Donuts was a doughnut shop first and foremost but people who went would often mention as an aside, “You’d be surprised but they actually have really good coffee”. It was kind of like an open secret. Nowadays, DD is a coffee shop that also has doughnuts. The coffee is the reason most people go and the business has basically positioned itself as a competitor of Starbucks not Krispie Kreme.
Can you think of other examples of this phenomenon?
Columbus Day (and some other holidays) were observed for a long time before state legislatures designated them to be official holidays.
I was watching a Pirates game one night, and saw that a Pittsburgh bedding outlet was “The official mattress store of the Pittsburgh Pirates”. I didn’t think they needed one, since pitcher Kris Benson’s wife was traded to the Orioles, with Benson himself thrown in on the deal. All you have to do is buy a big advertising contract for a team’s telecasts, and you can be the “official” purveyor of something to the team.
No. If this were true, Krispie Kreme’s attempt to enter the New England market would’ve been successful, not have completely failed and left within two years.
Dairy Queen has long been trying to reinvent itself as a fast food joint that also has a variety of ice cream-based desserts. I’m not sure if they’re there yet.
Do you mean like how some people jokingly referred to McDonald’s as “Mickey D’s”—and then McDonald’s themselves started using the name in their marketing?
Or how some people refer to the Solstices and Equinoxes as the “official first day of” the season?
Um, back in the 60s, every Dunkin’ Donuts had “World’s Best Coffee” on the sign outside every shop. It was as much a coffee shop then as it is today. (Well, nowadays, Dunkin’ Donuts is not really interested in selling donuts).
How about Avon Skin So Soft which was believed to be an insect repellent? They now manufacture a version that actually is an insect repellent.
For years, Coca-Cola used to run ads telling customers not to call it “Coke,” for fear of losing their trademark. Eventually, they trademarked “Coke” and now use it interchangeably.
(This is separate from the usage of “coke” to mean any soft drink.)
The same thing happened with Mane and Tail for horses. Rumor went around that it made women’s hair luxurious and, voila, it’s now a regular product sold in Walmart. I think that also was the case for Bag Balm or Udder Cream and something just for babies that’s been re-marketed to target adult skincare.
This is just a phrase catching on as the phenomenon it describes becomes more prevalent. It’s somewhat rare to see in action, but it does happen. The others are more “knowledge” things than “word” things, but it’s interesting that they can flow a similar pattern.
What a bizarre response to the OP.