STRANGE BRAND NAMES

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pturo

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At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney, don't you think it is strange that there are Hotpoint refrigerators and Fridgidare stoves? If you were an exectutive at these companies, would the brand name for the product not sound counterintuitive? How about a Coldspot furnace or a Thermador air conditioner? How about a Fireking ice maker or an Artic Air wood stove? How about the Chevy Bel-Air or Biscayne? Only the maids drove those low end Chevys to work in those upscale neighborhoods. And what's with Imperial? I guess there was no trademark on that name, because every washer had an Imperial upgrade name: I guess the Queen got around during conventions? Brand names try to send us to a different place, like Chevrolet to Monte Carlo, instead of Flint, Michigan. I think that we should be more honest and call a car the Buick Bronx,a Mercury Menopause, or a washer the Westinghouse Watts. Imperial implies the queen uses it or goes there, which could be true, in how you define the queen. So strange, how the ad men branded our lives in the 50's and 60's.
 
Thanks Andy!

the "buick Bronx" lol <br
It's interesting how there were so many appliances that were named with women in mind. such as you mentioned Imperial, and also Lady Kenmore, Epi-lady, Lady Schick, etc <br
These days it seems those are gone but advertising more to men or maybe a "toughness" stereotype, blah, blah. I don't know if they still make the "gladiator" (glad-he-ate-her) refrigertor, but that seemed rather over the top

And how about the $5000 industrial strength ss range. Now that I would like to see in pink with flower decals in several locations and a name like "lady chef". perhaps they could formulate faux high heels for the typically extended pipes that are used for legs on these things. lo <br
 
<i>the "buick Bronx" lol.</i <br
Actually, more like the Buick Coffin. I haven't seen anyone below age 70 driving one.. <br
<i>It's interesting how therewere so many appliances that were named with women in mind. such as you mentioned Imperial, and also Lady Kenmore, Epi-lady, Lady Schick, etc. </i <br
Today, they just give it a generic name and design it for women. A friend of mine has a Chevy Trailblazer. The thing's clearly designed to appeal to women - remarkably light steering, the front seat goes from 1/2" from the steering wheel to 2" from the steering wheel, the pedals are microscopic and useless if you're over a size 0 shoe (letalone a boot, who the hell designs this crap?). Nevermind the 'Cute Ute' and 'Chick Cars'. I think VW once determined that something like 80% of the new bugs sold were going to women <br
Of course, then there's the guy-oriented car - Dodge has done a great job with their pickup trucks - how many do you see with those ram cutouts, or the rubber balls hanging from the (never used!) trailer hitch <br
Then again, I'm convinced GM's car line was designed by/for women. They're bland, drive like crap, and offer nothing.
 
At the risk of sounding like I can't take a joke, I LOVED the brand names you mention. They are forever etched on my consciousness and that's OK. I think you have to remember that when they were created, they were such luxuries that to be able to actually OWN a Hotpoint, or a Frigidaire was a desirable thing. <br
Don't you remember Lucy's reaction when Ricky drives up to their "64th Street" apartment in a PONTIAC?!! She invokes the brand name in practically a rapture? Also, who remembers Barbra singing the ditty in "Funny Girl" <br
"...they'll be no Ice Man there, <br
singin' the blues, I'm gonna use <br
Nothing but Frigidaire" <br
Hotpoint=the tip of an expensive electric iro
Frigidaire=self explanator
Whirlpool=poetic image for what happens to wash wate
Pontiac= image of birch bark canoe through cold Michigan strea
Chevrolet=fast sleek exotic anima
Cadillac=two rich elderly Jewish ladies with glasses holder <br
Beat that.
 
Chevy

...except for the pickup trucks. They must only sell their trucks to people who like to tailgate and weave in and out of traffic.
 
Product Branding

I think there is an online course in product branding happening here. What if the "Edsel" were a washing machine brand, would you buy it?(Sure, for my dead grandmother) The car was pretty cool design wise
for it's time, but the name? FERGETABOUTIT! Sounds like two vaudville senior citizens in a nursing home named Edward and Selvia couldn't decide on who got first billing in the final revival act in Catskills: The Edsels!! Poor Ford Motor Company, they were never leaders, except for the Mustang and Thunderbird, and they managed to bastardise those nameplates. I wonder who managed Philco/Ford appliances-they had great design and sexy looking washers with all the buttons,lights and dials. We had a modern home tour in our neigborhood in 1966 and Philco was the deluxe washer in coppertone shown in model homes with "all electric" homes.
 
What about the Ford Taurus..that was the car back in the 80's that redefined sedan design and was a best seller for many years...btw it's being discontinued this year after 20. Can't think of any good looking Fords these days, not that the Taurus was ever good looking but it was a turning point in the industry.
 
Brand names sought to appeal to consumers by trading on two things: brand appeal and recongition <br
Persons who knew "Hotpoint" quality for say irons, would expect the same from other appliances (or so they hoped), and would purchase a Hotpoint range (so the makers hoped) <br
There have been volumes of books, both class room texts and so forth on this as it is the way of the world these days. One may not be able to afford a Chanel couture dress, but one can buy into the mystique by buying some Chanel perfume, cosmetics, or any of the other hundreds of products Chanel slaps their brand name on. <br
Speaking of brands and such, Chevy got into trouble years ago when it launched it's "Nova" car line in Mexico. Problem was not too many if any of the big boys in Detroit spoke Spanish. Had they bothered they would have found out "Nova" means "no go" in Spanish, NOT something one would name a car. Took a few sales quarters of horrible sales figures for the car before some bright blub put two and two together.
 
GE GEVALT!

(I can get away with this) How bout a new washer targeted to Jewish mothers with three models: The Gevalt, the Oy Gevalt, and the OY Gevalt Vayismere? While there would be subtle features and buttons for the mother to tweak the load of guilt/aquiesence on the various models of the upgrades to the models of the washer, the basic operating principles would be intact: Will not run until entire family's load is present in laundry tub and in the dining room to eat.(really, there is a sensor) Constant agitation with all loads,no matter what. Gets out wine stains for Passover, never pork gravy stains. Will not operate when son's goyim girlfriend tries to use it for a weekend visit from Penn State. Does not run on Friday evenings after sundown. Does not accept underwear loads where there is meat and dairy in the skid marks.(another sensor) If not completely satisfied with laundy cleanliness, could agitate all night. The machine has a 10% more revealed agitator, but the result is a cleaner lint filter,in the end,and you can see what you are dealing with.
 
Actually, it's an urban ledgend - the Nova in fact sold quite well in south America <br
There's a brand of gas downthere called nova too, I think <br
"No va" and "nova" are different things, and in any case, the connection's fuzzy - you wouldn't say "no va" in Spanish or "doesn't go&quot <br
Would a dinnette set named Notable sell poorly in the US, because in english, it says 'no table' <br
The other giggle is the "Yo soy el Army" stickers. First off, tha'ts not "an Army of one" in Spanish... <br
(The US Army canned that slogan anyway, as one analyst pointed out "An army of one would be more suited for the Hells Angels than the US Army..." <br
(cue NBC's 'the more you know' shooting star...)
 
Name associations

Here in Europe, we are constantly challenged by the name game. "Pajero" was a big success in lots of countries, but not Spain
My personal all time favorite for bad associations is the refrigerator brand in the picture (if I linked correctly.
I have never been able to explain to my German friends why a food keeper with the name "SMEG" just doesn't do it for my - shall we say "cheesy" little mind...

11-7-2006-04-50-47--panthera.jpg
 
It is obvious that the Pajero didn't sell well in Spain, isn't it?
Pajero in spanish means "wanker".......
I like that idea - as quite often a special type of bloke is driving this kind of cars here in Germany - and their behaviour is nothing better than that of a dirty little wanker! So, I use to say: "Look, that bloke in front definitely is driving the matching car with his NAME already on it!"
Smile!
Ralf
 
Bravo Steven! <br
Pturo, you are showing your youthful lack of Chevy history. The Bel Air was, for a while, the highest model in the Chevy line. I still remember a family friend's turquoise & white 55 Bel Air two door hardtop. That was a good looking and very distinctive car for many years and is among the most collectible Chevy's. And, while COOLERATOR was a badge for refrigerators, just like Frigidaire, they came out with a line of electric ranges. In parts of the country, "Coolerator" stood in for "refrigerator" just as did "Frigidaire." Neither Sears' furnaces nor central air conditioning were sold under brands other than Homart or Sears, so no chance for a Coldspot furnace. It is true that Buicks were cars that carried the message of solid comfort. My father traveled for a living. He worked his way up through Chevy's, a Pontiac, two Oldsmobiles and two Buicks before going to station wagons and one van so that he could carry more samples. Of course, back then, you did not buy the first Cadillac until you were sure that you could replace it with another Cadillac, so a Buick was a conservative luxury. Many of the small businessmen and women with whom dad did business had attitudes about Cadillacs. They would buy from a salesman for years, but when the salesman turned up in a Cadillac, they figured he did not need their business any more and stopped dealing with someone who had risen above them. <br
Keven, There is a little cartoon in the Washington Post titled Poor Richard or something like that runs in the Sunday Style Section. Once the panel showed a few shuttered stores, including the super market named SMEGMART. I wrote the cartoonist that perhaps it closed because, rather than a grocery store, shoppers thought it was only a cheese store. I never got a reply.
 

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