Naming and Branding Agency

Posts from: December 2007

Meet Mary Christmas


That’s Brian Christmas in the background…I think you get the picture.

According to Ancestry.com:

The surname Christmas originated in Wales, sometimes given to people born on Christmas Day.

There are 89 people named Mary Christmas in the U.S. [no mention Wales or elsewhere on this one].

Other Christmas-related names on U.S. Public Records include: Jack Frost, Santa Claus, Santa Helper, Carol Christmas, On Christmas and Christmas House.

Other names found in the U.S. Public Records include: Xmas Alley, Past Xmas, Eve Xmas, Kris Kringle, Snow Ball, Snow Flakes, Saint Nicholas, Rudolph Reindeer and Ginger Bread [I think I knew a stripper named Snowball].

There is no Frosty the Snowman, but 1,700 individuals show up with the surname Snowman in the census records [1700 Snowmen and not a Frosty among them? ...wimps].

Christmas is also a popular first name, according to census records. These include Christmas Joy, Christmas Day, Christmas Week, Christmas Coal, Christmas Cane, Merry Christmas Kellogg and Christmas December.

That’s it for Christmas – Happy Seasonal Tides and Greetings!

There’s Something About Vajayjay

something_about-maryAttorney Marty Schwimmer reports on The Trademark Blog that an application has been filed to register the word mark VAJAYJAY for Goods and Services beauty, hair care and personal care products.

“I think vajayjay is a nice word, don’t you?” asked Oprah, when she used the neologism on her show as a euphemism for vagina, according to an article in the New York Times discussing the popularity of vajayjay.

The swift adoption of vajayjay is not simply about pop culture’s ability to embrace new slang. Neologisms are always percolating. What this really demonstrates, say some linguists, is that there was a vacuum in popular discourse, a need for a word for female genitalia that is not clinical, crude, coy, misogynistic or descriptive of a vagina from a man’s point of view.

“There was a need for a pet name,” said Geoffrey Nunberg, a linguist at the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley, and the chairman of the usage panel for the American Heritage Dictionary, “a name that women can use in a familiar way among themselves.” As Marty says, “This will be interesting.”

Our favorite word, embraced by mass transit

Sometimes things are perfect.

If you need a good lipsmacking…

you’ve come to the right blog. “Lipsmacking”is the process of talking trash about brands, services, or goods, usually with a digital trail.

Other buzzwords and buzz-phrases predicted for 2008 by Pete Blackshaw, author of the soon-to-be-published book “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000″, include this insightful observation about branding:

“Converstations”: Brands now have multiple entry points for meaningful dialogues or conversations with consumers. These are essentially converstations. Brands fully immersed in CGM or social media may have dozens of conversations, from the consumer affairs interfaces and toll-free numbers to the corporate blog. They all matter, and every brand manager should know his or her converstations.
Well said.

Two great product names

The first, “Plastic Surgeon” comes to us by way of Gizmodo:

The Plastic Surgeon, a cutting tool to open those plastic blister packs that dominate retail packaging. It’s shaped sort of like an old-school can opener (the non-turning kind), and is designed to rip the tip off of clamshell packs by slicing all the way around.

This is a perfect consumer product name, it is descriptive AND evocative at the same time AND it is a play on words, giving it multiple associations AND it is a well known phrase, making it instantly memorable and viral. For comparison, a competitors product is named “OpenX”. It’s no contest.

The second is FUBAR, a demolition crowbar from Stanley. Again this one is descriptive in that it contains the word “bar”. It is evocative in that FUBAR has a secondary meaning AND that secondary meaning also maps to the desired result of using the FUBAR.

What’s in a name?

“In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be.” ~Hubert H. Humphrey, US politician (1911 - 1978)

Company and product name discussion

This is almost a good article on company and product names, except Igor is interviewed. Via yesterday’s Sacramento Bee.

Company and product name discussion

This is almost a good article on company and product names, except Igor is interviewed. Via yesterday’s Sacramento Bee.

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show – Marisa’s First Time

If girl-watching is a sport in California, where surf-loving Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Marisa Miller grew up, then Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which airs tonight on CBS, must be…well…let her describe it.


Yes, “it’s like the Olympics of being a girl.”

Nokia announces “Evolve” today, named by Igor (natch)

Via CNN:

At the annual Nokia World conference today, Nokia outlined its vision for the mobile industry, predicting rapid change driven by the convergence of mobility and the internet, and the need for the industry to make an increasing contribution to environmental sustainability…

…This was against the background of the launch of the Nokia 3110 Evolve, a mobile device with bio-covers made from more than 50% renewable material. The device is presented in a small package made of 60% recycled content and it comes with Nokia’s most energy efficient charger yet, using 94% less energy than the Energy Star requirements.

More of Igor’s work with Nokia.