Ridiculous business names

FoxEye

FoxEye

FoxEye

Caporegime
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(Chapter 12: Old man shouts at cloud, again. Cloud remains unmoved.)

Have you noticed the amount of businesses today, that are named after something a toddler might say, or you might say to a toddler?

I was walking around town this morning and came across a new one, "Smiggie".

Funnily enough, the other day I was listening to some commentary about the infantalisation of modern society. And (in my mind at least) this would be a perfect example.

I have a few problems with these businesses.

First, obviously, they sound really daft. "ZimZam", "Oookla", "Whibwhabwhappitywhoop". (Some of those may not be real :p)

Second, they give me no idea what the business sells. "Sports Direct", "Waterside Sports", "JD Sports"... with those I know immediately what you're selling, and this is helpful. What does "Smiggie" sell? Your guess is as good as mine.

Now we've been through a phase of businesses choosing abstract names. "Three", "Orange", "O2", etc. But at least those were real things. Now it's all "GiffGaff" and "Voxi" and stuff that has absolutely no meaning at all.

Naturally I'm not going to protest these shops outside Westminster, or create a petition or anything, but does anyone else find these names just a tad silly? Infantile, in fact? Is this a symptom of our descent into madness or just a big, fat, nothing-burger?
 
FoxEye said:
Have you noticed the amount of businesses today, that are named after something a toddler might say, or you might say to a toddler?

I was walking around town this morning and came across a new one, "Smiggie".
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Do you mean Smiggle? They sell kids stationery. A childish name seems par for the course really.

Smiggle started as an idea by Stephen Meurs and Peter Pausewang who saw a gap in the market for fun, engaging, collectable, fashionable, and affordable stationery aimed at the 5 to 14 year age group. In late 2002, Meurs started designing, developing and producing the first lines of Smiggle stationery, while Kate Martino was tasked to look for suitable retail sites around Melbourne. They decided on the name, 'Smiggle' as a mashup word for smile and giggle, reflecting their aims for the products.
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Not sure that stuff like GiffGaff or Voxi sounds particularly infantile, just a bit odd and trying too hard to be different.
 
Considering vox is Latin for voice, seems quite appropriate for a phone company (voxi) to use that in their name.
 
Steeps said:
Considering vox is Latin for voice, seems quite appropriate for a phone company (voxi) to use that in their name.
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A quick Google suggests giffgaff also has an older meaning relating to 'mutual giving', which is why it was chosen for what was a slightly different approach to a phone network at its launch.

A little over a decade ago, O2’s executive Gav Thompson had an idea: what if there was a mobile network that worked more like Wikipedia? It would be a community-focused effort, where members were rewarded for promoting the business and answering support queries. By operating online with a minimal staff, such a network could offer incredibly good rates to its members and still afford to pay them back for their hard work. The idea was thought feasible by Thompson’s peers at O2, and they even found the perfect name for it: giffgaff, after an ancient Scottish term for mutual giving. The giffgaff community forums rolled out in August 2009, followed by the network as a whole in November the same year. giffgaff piggy-backed on O2’s mobile network, but was spun out and operated as an independent company. In total, it took just six months for giffgaff to get off the ground!
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Back in the day, your business name didn’t need to be particularly unique. There could be hundreds of businesses all over the world with very similar names. Nowadays you need a domain name and a website, these have to be globally unique and all of the sensible names have been taken.
 
Steeps said:
Considering vox is Latin for voice, seems quite appropriate for a phone company (voxi) to use that in their name.
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I think I'd still judge them as childish based on their adverts, which are some of the most mindless pap ever spat out by a marketing dept.
 
Quartz said:
The name worked: it made you remember it.
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Apparently not, as I got it wrong (see above).

But that theory is basically the same as "no such thing as bad publicity", and that remembering something for any reason is good. Just ask Prince Andrew how accurate that is...
 
FoxEye said:
Apparently not, as I got it wrong (see above).

But that theory is basically the same as "no such thing as bad publicity", and that remembering something for any reason is good. Just ask Prince Andrew how accurate that is...
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You remembered it well enough for Google to correct it.

Showing results for Smiggle
Search instead for Smiggie

Smiggle UK | The Ultimate Creators of Fun, Fashion-Forward ...
https://www.smiggle.co.uk › shop › smiggleuk
Smiggle Sale is here! Save Up to 50% on colourful, fun, fashion-forward stationery and office supplies, bags, lunchboxes and drink bottles.
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Surveyor said:
You remembered it well enough for Google to correct it.
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Sure but what does that mean? I'm never going to like that name, and it will be a permanent negative association with that business.

Heck, I could name a business "Heil Hitler" and it would gain a load of publicity and be really memorable. Good thing or not?

uber soldat said:
*Raises walking stick and also shouts at cloud*

ITS NOT LIKE THE OLD DAYS.
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Let me embrace you as a brother.
 
uber soldat said:
*Raises walking stick and also shouts at cloud*

ITS NOT LIKE THE OLD DAYS.
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Where electrical stores were named Comet and after food..... And furniture stores are non descript TLAs (DFS, scs)... And supermarkets misspelled their name (Kwik Save and Somerfield)...

Totally made more sense back then.
 
FoxEye said:
Sure but what does that mean? I'm never going to like that name, and it will be a permanent negative association with that business.
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Thay're an Australian company with stores in several countries so I think they're doing OK. The name 'Smiggle' is a mashup word for smile and giggle.

FoxEye said:
Heck, I could name a business "Heil Hitler" and it would gain a load of publicity and be really memorable. Good thing or not?
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There's a difference between having the sort of name you consider ridiculous and one which most people would consider offensive.
 
Surveyor said:
Thay're an Australian company with stores in several countries so I think they're doing OK. The name 'Smiggle' is a mashup word for smile and giggle.

There's a difference between having the sort of name you consider ridiculous and one which most people would consider offensive.
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But we were simplifying down to the level that if something is memorable it has achieved its aim.

So now we seem to be agreeing that just being memorable does not make a name a success. It can be memorable for being childish, memorable for being difficult to pronounce, memorable for being offensive, etc.

Doesn't that mean that having a silly but memorable name is not automatically a good thing?
 
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