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These bimbos mean business

Where were you at the end of 2008, when Mexican food giant Grupo Bimbo sealed a $2.4 billion deal with Weston Foods, acquiring Weston’s entire lineup of American brands and making Grupo Bimbo the largest bakery in the U.S.? Operating in the U.S. as Bimbo U.S.A., these stealthy Mexican blondes now sell almost every carbohydrate…

Maalox Total Relief: works so well it will make you sick

By Jeffery Racheff If there’s one place you don’t want to confuse names, it’s probably in the world of medicine and drugs. Take Maalox Total Relief for instance. Folks looking for deliverance from diarrhea flocked to the over-the-counter medicine, assuming it would alleviate their belly pains. Instead they found themselves much worse off. What they…

Lindsay Lohan, destroyer of brands

by Jeffery Racheff Is there really no such thing as bad publicity? The old saying holds that any chance to get your name in the paper (or on people’s blogs) is worth the flack you might take for scandal or distastefulness. In the long run, so it goes, the potential for brand awareness outweighs temporary…

Ariva tobacco candy up for FDA review

  • About: Naming

I was elated to hear that tobacco now comes in candy form because I was a big fan of candy cigarettes when I was a kid. Wintergreen-flavored Ariva is already available in some drug and convenience stores, but you may not want to try it just yet. It turns out that along with the nicotine,…

I want my MTV… without the "music television"

by Jeffery Racheff Video killed the radio star, and now MTV has killed the video. After an increasing amount of programming dedicated to all things reality, the cable giant has officially struck the tag “music television” from its logo. It will now make its mark with an expanded, transparent “M” (presumably one in which the…

Who took the cardboard out of my Domino’s?

by Danny Altman Some things you don’t mess with. Don’t take the growth hormone out of my milk. I’m short enough as it is. Don’t stick an electric outlet on my car. I like the smell of fresh gasoline. Don’t give me cheese on a knife. I like it straight out of the can. And…

I’ve never seen a cardinal in Arizona

by Barry Silverstein The Super Bowl got us thinking about sports team names. Some professional sports team names really work – like the New Orleans Saints. After all, with the city’s connection to jazz and the immortal tune, “When the Saints Go Marching In,” the name is a great fit. The New England Patriots –…

Is XFINITY an infinitely bad name–how much time do you have?

by Danny Altman I will give you a four hour window to consider Comcast’s new name for its triple play service. In the first hour, after you wash the dishes and clean out the cat litter, you can ponder why big companies waste their money doing superficial rebrands while their real problems lie untouched. In…

Buffalo’s Peace Bridge ponders selling its soul to PETA

by Jeffery Racheff Desperate times call for desperate measures. At least that may be the case in Buffalo, New York, where the city’s Department of Transportation is looking for a way to come up with the necessary funds required to fix a bridge. A state audit has concluded the Peace Bridge, which connects Buffalo with…

The Best Startup Businesses to Work For

It’s always exciting to get in on the ground floor of an exciting new business venture. The best startup businesses to work for are often distinguished by their exciting company cultures. Successful startups know that to achieve a passionate work force, they have to engender a positive and enriching environment around their company. These startup…