Sunday, April 19, 2009

Speaking of Kleenex

Happy Sunday.


I am impressed with brands that have somehow managed to bump the original items name out of vernacular for their brand name.... for example: Saran Wrap (plastic wrap), Kleenex (tissue), Scotch Tape (clear tape), Post-It Notes (well...they did invent the category so we'll give them that one), linoleum, Band-Aid and Zipper.

Often enough they were the category definers - first in, so to speak. But I love how synomous their terms have become.... I mean really, who would ask for a medical gauze adhesive instead of a Band-Aid?


Some brand are close, such as Starbucks is for coffee, Heinz for ketchup. Both are ubiquitous and category owners - but they aren't the 'noun' that trandscends the total platform across all markets to own the product as a name.

No comments: