Posts from: July 2005
Here it is, the 6th sign of The Apocolypse. Wikipedia has become a dumping ground for corporate p.r. (complete with logos):
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Forth & Towne is a brand of clothing stores that is owned by Gap Inc., which also owns the Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy brands. Forth & Towne focuses on women over 35 who grew up with the Gap brand, but have “lost touch” with it.
History
The brand was announced by Gap Inc. in September 2004, and has a planned lauch date sometime in Autumn 2005. At that point, Gap Inc. will begin a test phase of the new concept with four stores in the Chicago area, and one in New York . If successful, the company plans to add at least 50 additional stores in the United Kingdom, France , and Japan by the year 2007.
History??? What kind of header is that? It’s not even open yet, just a store that Gap plans on opening and it merits an entry in an encyclopedia? Not in one that wants to maintain its hard-won credibility.
Lest you think the Book of Revelation reference too heavy-handed, check out the number of search results returned here. There are no coincidences.
A Microsoft analyst has won the 2005 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest with a submission of deliberately bad prose that vividly describes an automotive mechanic’s appreciation for well-built equipment.
“As he stared at her ample bosom, he daydreamed of the dual Stromberg carburetors in his vintage Triumph Spitfire, highly functional yet pleasingly formed, perched prominently on top of the intake manifold, aching for experienced hands, the small knurled caps of the oil dampeners begging to be inspected and adjusted as described in chapter seven of the shop manual.”
That’s the best of the worst submissions, and there’s a lot worse.
You know it, you hate it, the writing is inane, the point of view insane. It’s the BP “Oil for Chocolate” ad:
Announcer: “What would you rather have, a cleaner environment or your car?”
Talent: “…asking someone to give up their car… that’s like asking them to give up chocolate, it’s just not going to happen”
Ummmmmmmm, no. Asking someone to give up their car is NOT like asking them to give up chocolate. If it were, the environment would be cleaner toot sweet. And the the m&m guys would have a price on their heads.
Wordlab doesn’t get into the politics of war, but when the White House gets into “retooling its slogan for the fight against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups” by changing the Global War on Terror into the Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism it’s engaging in a “war of words” we cannot help but help.
We’ve read the New York Times, the BBC News, and Slate, and even checked the Daily Show Video Archive, and nobody has yet mentioned that “struggle” is the meaning of the word jihad.
Stumbled upon the name machine. Interesting charts showing the historical popularity of a name (per million babies). Maxwell is more popular now that the previous turn of the century – but seems to be a turn of the century name. Max, meanwhile, was bigger in the previous early century than now. Mack is stuck in a rut and needs a new heart-throb or something exciting to increase the name’s popularity.
Which reminds me to check and see if Mack trucks are getting hammered by the Hummer on the American Brandstand.
DJ Mash creates mashups—mixed-up, mashed-up, bashed-up tunes—rap recordings with musical memory triggers. The music appeals to a broader crossover audience, well worth the free download. Like our words, this music just wants to be free.
The titles to these smashups are the result of creative wordplay like we do around here. “Lovesick Heart Of Glass” is a mashup of Blondie (Heart Of Glass) vs. Gangstarr (Lovesick) and “Born To Abracadabra” is a riff off Steve Miller Band (Abracadabra) vs. Mark B & Blade (Born To Rule).
Our fave, of course, is “Why Can’t I Be From The Wordlab?” mixing The Cure (Why Can’t I Be You) vs. Mark B & Blade (From The Wordlab), and it’s now the official mashup of this blog.
Today’s Doonesbury is grabbing a lot of ink for using President Bush’s nickname for Karl Rove. We just don’t buy the explanation:
Why did Garry Trudeau use Karl Rove’s “Turd Blossom” nickname in Tuesday and Wednesday’s “Doonesbury” strips?
“Given that I’m writing for a general audience, I try not to use crude or vulgar language gratuitously,” replied Trudeau, after E&P e-mailed him several questions this afternoon. “But in this case, I felt that [President] Bush’s nickname for Rove was illuminating. ‘Turd blossom’ has so many connotations, none of them flattering. It’s a small masterpiece of nastiness.”
About 10 to 12 newspapers pulled or edited the “Turd Blossom” strips, according to an Associated Press story. Trudeau is OK with the pulling part, but not the editing part.
In today’s “Doonesbury” comic (which can be viewed here), an aide tells Bush: “Sir, we’re still getting pretty beat up on the Rove revelations. We can’t get traction on any other issue. It’s just the leak thing 24-7!” Bush responds: “Yeah, I know. Karl’s sure been earnin’ his nickname lately.” Aide: “Boy Genius? I’m not so sure, sir.” Bush then calls out to Rove: “Hey, Turd Blossom! Get in here!”
Does Trudeau think many newspaper editors and readers are aware that “Turd Blossom” is a real nickname for Bush’s close advisor, not one made up by the cartoonist?
“My assumption was twofold — that many people already knew it, and that most others would infer it was real from the way I teed it up,” said Trudeau. “I also felt that those in the latter group would be as tickled to learn of it as I was.”
This story is being covered by every major news source under the pretense of controversy: “About 10 to 12 newspapers pulled or edited the “Turd Blossom” strips, according to an Associated Press story.” That’s out of 1400 papers that carry the strip, or less than one percent. So why is this really a story?
Because America loves a good poop joke.
The cartoonist did say he was careful to limit himself to a couple of “Turd Blossom” mentions. “Twice seems enough for readers to enjoy,” he observed. “I don’t want to push my luck.”
Indeed, two turd blossoms in two days is generally considered a satisfying number, or at least one to aspire to.
From the August 2005 issue of Fast Company:
Brand Aids
The always-slippery topic of branding becomes more so on the Web, where “brand” bloggers typically spill the most ink on, well, blogging. We found three that offer on-target insights.
By: Jena McGregor
BLOG: BrandShift
WHO WRITES IT: Four branding gurus: Andy Lark, Johnnie Moore, Jennifer Rice, and John Winsor
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT: While their individual blogs often wander off-topic, BrandShift’s authors stick to their knitting at this site. There’s a healthy debate on defining the concept of branding and an account of the dead-on brand experience of calling the receptionist (”You’ve got it, bro”) at Patagonia’s headquarters.
BLOG: BrandNoise
WHO WRITES IT: Brand planners and researchers at scenarioDNA in New York
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT: Mostly a roundup of stories on hip brands, scenario’s blog collects insightful news without pitching its services. It offers surprising takes on current buzz concepts — such as applying the notion of “brand hijacking” to the downtown New York music club CBGB, once country, now punk.
BLOG: Naming and Branding Meta Blog, an aggregation of the two blogs [all published by Igor] Snark Hunting and Wordlab
WHO WRITES IT: The folks behind Igor, a San Francisco branding consultancy
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT: The best stuff comes from Snark Hunting. Its authors riff on Gap Inc.’s new Forth & Towne store concept for middle-aged women, noting that it uses an ampersand rather than risk the acronym FAT.
Read more about brand blogs — and nominate your favorite blogs of any sort — at www.fastcompany.com/keyword/bestblogs.
There is no accounting for taste.
The naming news from Singapore arrived today in a report from the Pakistan Daily Times, which was picked-up and blogged by Stefan in Iasi and sent “over the top” (Arctic route ) to us in Northern California. And boy is it tired…..
After spending S$400,000 ($240,964) to come up with a suitable new name for the revamped downtown Marina Bay, Singapore has decided to stick to, well, Marina Bay, media reports said Friday.
The city-state’s urban development authorities and global branding company Interbrand spent months deliberating over 400 potential names before settling on the original moniker, according to the Today newspaper. The $400,000 financed a massive branding exercise that involved market tests, focus group discussions and consultations with developers and the general public, Today said.
Finding the right name for the city-state’s revised downtown, which will include the much-debated resort casino, a new business district and swanky retail outlets, was a process akin to parents deciding on a name for their child, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.
We take a lot of shots at suspect naming and branding results, but must say the above has to be the piece of work out of Interbrand that we most respect.
If you don’t believe us, try this on for size. Or this. Or this. Or this. Or this. Or this. Or this. Actually, that last one has to be a close second.
Is Microsoft so big it can just use any product name it wants, knowing the lawyers will sort it out and they can ultimately buy whatever they need to acquire the necessary trademark rights?
According to a report in the Seattle Times, Microsoft may have stepped on the toes of another software company, just down the road in Redmond, when it announced the name “Vista” for its next Windows operating system.
Vista Inc., a business software and services company founded in 1999 by John Wall, owns a trademark of “vista” and is considering its options, which include “talking” to Microsoft. Talking to trademark owners seems to be the last thing on Microsoft’s “to do list” when it comes to naming a product.
…the Windows team came up with several words that reflected the experience of using the new product. They were hashed out across the company, tested and reviewed with the help of outside consultants.
Microsoft splits its major advertising and branding work between ad giants Young & Rubicam and McCann-Erickson. The final decision was made by Windows bosses Jim Allchin, Will Poole and G. Michael Sievert, a former AT&T Wireless executive hired this year to lead the product’s marketing.
Vista is a tricky choice because many companies claim trademarks on various uses of the word, said Wall, whose Kirkland-based Wall Data was acquired by Cupertino, Calif.-based NetManage in 2000. He has had to defend his company’s trademark on the use of the words “vista” and “com” together; the company also owns the Internet domain vista.com.
“It’s further confusion to a confusing mark,” he said of Microsoft’s decision.
As of yesterday afternoon, no companies had raised any Vista trademark issues with Microsoft lawyers, spokeswoman Stacy Drake said. She said the company filed for trademark protection of the words “Windows” and “Vista” used together.
“The name Vista is commonly used by a variety of companies in a variety of industries,” she said. “We are only using the word Vista paired with our trademark Windows so the two together — ‘Windows Vista’ — form the name of our next operating system.”
Engadget notes that among other “companies that could be affected by the new name are La Jolla, California, based Vista Software, and Warren, Ohio’s Vista Window Co., which makes, you guessed it, Windows.”
Vista Windows. Windows Vista. Bringing clarity to your world.
Posted: July 30th, 2005 |
Category: Uncategorized