by Devon Thomas Treadwell | Oct 7, 2010 | Branding, Naming
A generation ago, South Korea was an impoverished nation whose economy relied primarily on agriculture. In 1960, Korea’s per capita gross national product was less than the Sudan’s and not even one-third the size of Mexico’s. Today, Korea enjoys the...
by Devon Thomas Treadwell | Aug 11, 2010 | Branding, Naming
One of Pollywog’s big differentiators is that unlike other naming agencies, we don’t create meaningless, nonsensical names, even though they would be easy to sell. Meaningless names are usually available for trademark and often sail through onerous...
by Devon Thomas Treadwell | Apr 30, 2010 | Branding, Humor, Naming
Today’s New York Times features an expose of brands with fictional or highly embellished histories–what Yale linguist Laurence R. Horn aptly calls “etymythologies.” Among the culprits: Keds’ “sneakers,” Hershey’s Kisses...
by Devon Thomas Treadwell | Apr 22, 2010 | Naming, Pollywog News
Sales are brisk for Pollywog-named Scent of the Missing, a new memoir by Susannah Charleson, named by Pollywog and released this month by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Scent of the Missing chronicles the author’s adventures with her golden retriever as members of a...
by Devon Thomas Treadwell | Jan 29, 2010 | Branding, Branding Debacles, Naming
Much has been written about Apple’s clumsy introduction of the iPad. But the hook to this story is not that a big company made a naming mistake. This happens, sometimes in large, visible cases. Nor is the story about alleged sexism at Apple. While it may be true...
by Devon Thomas Treadwell | Dec 16, 2009 | Branding, Naming, Retrospectives
BEST 1. Ghost Who would give a new product a name that reminds people of haunting, horror and death? Rolls-Royce bravely did when it introduced the 2009 Ghost. Though the name is likely a nod to the British automaker’s 1906 “Silver Ghost,” it still carries a...
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