# Why do companies sometimes not use definite articles to refer to their products? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949 "2014-07-12T21:17:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cantcurecancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@cantcurecancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantcurecancer)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/1 "2014-07-12T21:17:28Z")
Why do companies refer to their products without using any definite articles on occasion? For example, it’s not the iPhone. It’s iPhone. It’s not “The Model S is a great car.” It’s “Model S is a great car.” Look at the title and description of this video and then listen to Jony Ive refer to it as “the iPhone 5c” and “iPhone 5c is unapologetically…” You don’t hear normal people talking about their possessions in this manner…but I do see this with many different companies and products. Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/2 "2014-07-12T21:20:42Z")
Literally the first two words of that ad are “ **The** iPhone…”. I didn’t listen to the rest. ETA I gave it a second chance, it goes on to say “…5c is in many ways the distillation of what people love about **the** iPhone 5”. So, maybe you need to find another example. ---
**Author:** ![cantcurecancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@cantcurecancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantcurecancer)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/3 "2014-07-12T21:21:30Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Literally the first two words of that ad are “The iPhone”. I didn’t listen to the rest. And that’s why you look like a fool now 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/4 "2014-07-12T21:24:00Z")
> [@cantcurecancer](#): > > And that’s why you look like a fool now 🙂 Huh? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/5 "2014-07-12T21:33:06Z")
I listened to the whole thing, they only didn’t say ‘the’ twice. I didn’t count how many times they said ‘the iPhone’ but I’d guess it was probably 6-8. ---
**Author:** ![cantcurecancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@cantcurecancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantcurecancer)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/6 "2014-07-12T21:34:40Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Huh? I’m asking why is there inconsistency in their reference to the iPhone. The description doesn’t use “the,” it says “iPhone 5c is more than just a color phone. It’s an entirely new expression of what iPhone can be.” And yet the first words out of Jony Ive’s mouth are “the iphone” as you have said…but later in the video he refers to it awkwardly without the “the.” I’m asking why that is. Why do companies refer to their products without definite articles on occasion? It seems awkward and I notice it very much. Is it done to create some sort of mystique around the product? Is it some marketing mumbo jumbo used to illustrate that the product isn’t a ‘thing’ but much more than that? And again, it’s not just the iPhone, it’s many different companies and products. The iPhone unveiling is just the most popular example. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/7 "2014-07-12T23:01:56Z")
> [@cantcurecancer](#): > > And that’s why you look like a fool now 🙂 **Moderator Note** **cantcurecancer** , insults are not permitted in General Questions. No warning issued, but don’t do this again. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/8 "2014-07-12T23:36:29Z")
Bands do this too. It’s Talking Heads, not The Talking Heads. Neither are they consistent. Sometimes it’s Magnetic Fields, and sometimes it’s The Magnetic Fields. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/9 "2014-07-12T23:42:06Z")
Removed message. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/10 "2014-07-12T23:50:23Z")
It has to do with positioning a product as a total experience–not just ownership of the physical item. It’s a way of trying to subtly elevate a product into an Ideal which surpasses the competitor’s more mundane offering. You use the Samsung cellular device? I have iPhone. Are you driving the Kia? Why not experience MKC’s Dream Ride? And of course, as you mention it’s very inconsistent. Lincoln’s splash page, for example, use “the” in front of MKC’s Dream Ride tag line… ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/11 "2014-07-12T23:53:48Z")
It makes the product sound more like a person. iPhone is the phone’s name, so if you call it “the iPhone” I suppose you’re not triggering the same emotional side with your target audience. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/12 "2014-07-13T00:19:46Z")
Our local medical center is Mayo Clinic, not The Mayo Clinic. It’s something they’ve started about ten years ago. I feel it’s like a Britishism, like going to Hospital instead of going to The Hospital (my capitalizations intentional). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/13 "2014-07-13T00:44:24Z")
Whatever the reason, people should ignore the corporate gobbledygook and use whatever form is natural in their dialects. It really annoys me when I hear someone say “It’s SkyDome, not THE SkyDome.” Shut up with that nonsense. And when a “the” is appropriate, stop capitalizing it in the middle of a sentence. “Ringo Starr was the last member to join the Beatles,” not “Ringo Starr was the last member to join The Beatles.” Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/14 "2014-07-13T00:47:23Z")
Sometimes people drop “the” when talking about a thing which they feel associated with and often talk about. This is true of some government organizations. People who work at the ATF, the FDA, the CIA, and the NSA often say those names without the word “the.” ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/15 "2014-07-13T01:52:42Z")
I like The Beatles and I also like to listen to Kasabian. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/16 "2014-07-13T02:27:12Z")
Pretentious Apple executives & ads aside I always, \*\*\*always \*\*\*use the (in)definite article when referring to \*\*an \*\*iPhone (or an Android or a Windows Phone or a Blackberry). The only time I would say ‘the’ iPhone is when speaking of it collectively as in its place in the past, present & future marketplace, like, “a few years ago Android sales finally overtook those of the iPhone”. Everyone I know says it that way too. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/17 "2014-07-13T06:18:19Z")
There’s something odd about the usage of “the” in English, at least in English as I see and hear and understand it. For example, in all discussions of the Higgs boson that I’ve ever read, it’s always called “the Higgs boson”. All that particle colliding they did wasn’t looking for “a Higgs boson”, they were always looking for “the Higgs boson”. There was even a jokish whoosh about there being only one Higgs boson in the universe, which zips around the universe randomly dispensing mass to any other particles it encounters. No wonder it took so long for them to catch it in their collider at just the instant when it passed through. So, likewise, even when one says “the iPad”, it sounds like it’s talking about the one and only iPad in the universe, when in fact it refers to the whole product line. But ad execs using just “iPad” is just ad exec wonks being pretentious. AND CONTRARIWISE . . . There are some companies that insist on including the word “The” in their name, which sounds even more pretentious. This seems popular with life insurance companies: Lincoln always calls themselves “The Lincoln”, and IIRC there are others that do this. ETA: I think another one is Prudential, which calls itself “The Prudential”. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/18 "2014-07-13T07:58:18Z")
The use of articles is one of the things that differs most between languages and is most difficult to translate. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/19 "2014-07-13T08:15:17Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > AND CONTRARIWISE . . . There are some companies that insist on including the word “The” in their name, which sounds even more pretentious. This seems popular with life insurance companies: Lincoln always calls themselves “The Lincoln”, and IIRC there are others that do this. ETA: I think another one is Prudential, which calls itself “The Prudential”. It was originally, in 1848, _The Prudential Mutual Assurance Investment and Loan Association_ which was reduced in 1924 when it was first listed, to _The Prudential Assurance Company Limited_. I don’t know when it happened, but these days they are simply _Prudential_. That said, I and most people I know, would refer to them as “The Pru” ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949/20 "2014-07-14T11:05:54Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > The only time I would say ‘the’ iPhone is when speaking of it collectively as in its place in the past, present & future marketplace, like, “a few years ago Android sales finally overtook those of the iPhone”. Everyone I know says it that way too. In that ad, they aren’t speaking about one iPhone, they are speaking about the line of iPhone 5c - the whole line as a collective. So, exactly the way you use it. Also, in that commercial, the two instances of “iPhone 5c” without “the” preceding it are referring to the 5c line as a specification of which iPhone. “IPhone 5c is the newest line, and has the most awesomest features, as opposed to iPhone 5 which only had the almost awesomest features.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-companies-sometimes-not-use-definite-articles-to-refer-to-their-products/692949.md?page=2)