Interesting facts about advertising campaigns of world brands. Way to success
The Industrial Revolution gave impetus to the development of scientific and technological progress. The transition from a traditional society to an industrial one was accompanied by an improvement in technology, the emergence of new goods on the world market, and an increase in the range of existing ones. Then there was a need to delimit the products of one segment. The information society dictated its own laws, the keen eye of the consumer was looking for something new, unique, special. Manufacturers whose products met the expectations of the masses received worldwide recognition, falling in love with more than one generation. However, few people know that the stories of famous brands are, first of all, the stories of ordinary people. who did not strive for fame at all, rather, on the contrary, they suffered from crisis and poverty.
Hugo Boss: clothes for soldiers of the Third Reich
Today, Hugo Boss produces luxury clothing under the separate Hugo and Boss brands, perfumes, as well as sunglasses and watches. Hugo Boss recently launched a mobile phone with Samsung.
It all started back in 1923, when the tailor Hugo Ferdinand Boss founded a textile manufacturing company in the small German town of Metzingen. The family business was run by several people close to Boss. Soon a small shop opened. The tailor's clients were mostly police officers and workers. But things go badly, and in 1930 Hugo Boss announces the closure of the business.
However, the enterprising tailor did not have to sit idle. Joining the lava of the National Socialist Party of Germany in 1931, he again opens his own business, this time on a larger scale - a clothing factory. Gradually, the enterprise grows, so the owner is forced to use prisoners of war from different European countries: France, Poland, Austria, etc. as labor force. It was a period of success and recognition, Boss's clients were Wehrmacht officers, high-ranking officials of Nazi Germany, and even close associates of Hitler.
After the end of World War II, the tailor is accused of collaborating with the Nazis, fined and deprived of the opportunity to vote. Apparently never recovering from the blow, Hugo Boss dies in 1948.
After that, the factory passes into the hands of his son-in-law, Eugen Holy. Clothes for handymen and postmen are produced again. In 1953, the company produced the first men's suit. It was this event that marked the new future of Hugo Boss as a luxury clothing brand.
In 1967, the grandsons of the founder, Jochen and Uwe Holly, became the leaders of the company. For the first time they are promoting the brand, which makes it famous and recognized all over the world.
In the 70s of the twentieth century, the company turns into a fashion house, which brings together famous fashion designers and designers.
The release of a perfume line, a collection of clothes for children, a demonstration of a mobile phone under its own brand - this is how we know the Hugo Boss brand today: luxurious, sophisticated and unique.
Tefal and Teflon: they found each other
The history of the Tefal trademark, one of the most famous brands in the world, begins in 1954 and is associated with the great discovery of the French engineer and fisherman Marc Gregoire. While thinking about how to fix the sticking problem of a sliding spinning rod, he found that polytetrafluoroethylene or Teflon could be applied to aluminum surfaces. The matter was put into practice, and the problem with the sliding system of the device for catching fish disappeared forever.
At first, Gregoire's discovery was used in areas far from the production of kitchen appliances, mainly in the design of aerospace technology.
The first Teflon-coated pan was made by the Grégoire family. The couple realized that aluminum, to which nothing sticks, is a salvation for hundreds of thousands of women. After a successful test of the miracle pan by the wife of the discoverer, a long period of obtaining a patent began.
Tefal was founded in 1956. The newly minted manufacturer received an ingenious name, a combination of two words - TEFlon and Aluminum. Frying pans quickly won the trust of both housewives and experienced chefs. In 1958, more than a million pans were sold, a year later - about three.
In the 60s, the Tefal brand, recognized in Europe, began to conquer the overseas market. In America, they were delighted with the novelty, about a million pans were sold per month.
Business prospered, non-stick frying pan businesses were set up all over the world. Then Mark Gregoire decided to transfer the furrows of the board to experienced managers, and he himself took up his favorite thing - invention. And as always, he achieved excellent results. Soon, Tefal expanded its product range - the production of household appliances was added to the manufacture of various kitchen appliances.
Nike is a brand recognizable by a tick
The brand's legend began in 1964, when an American student, Phil Knight, faced the problem of choosing sports shoes. He was a runner, he needed comfortable shoes for training. At that time, only Adidas branded sneakers were on sale, which only the world champion in running could afford, and ordinary sports shoes for $ 5, after wearing which the legs hurt.
Phil Knight studied at the economics department of Stanford University, the idea to create his own trademark came to his mind at one of the marketing seminars. Each student had their own project. As a home task, it was necessary to think over a business development strategy and a marketing plan. Thus, the first steps in the development of a global brand were taken.
Phil believed in his idea to the end. Therefore, when it came time to decide how to produce affordable and high-quality shoes, he was not at a loss, because he already had a plan. The student travels to Japan and signs a contract with a local company to supply sneakers across the ocean.
At first, Blue Ribbon Sports (it was called that) did not even have its own store. Phil traveled all over the country in a van selling shoes on the street.
One day he met a man named Jeff Johnson. Since then, everything has changed. An experienced athlete turned out to be an excellent marketer who launched a campaign to promote the brand.
In 1965, the founders of the company came up with a new name for it - Nike. Johnson allegedly dreamed of Nike, the winged goddess of victory.
Simple to the point of genius, the swoosh-shaped logo appeared in 1971. It was invented by University of Portland student Carolyn Davidson for just $30. Later, Phil Knight will correct himself and reward her with a statuette with diamonds and even give away part of the company's shares.
The famous checkmark has the name “Swoosh”, translated from English as “flying with a whistle”. She symbolizes the wing of the goddess who brings victory.
Indeed, Nike has defeated many of its competitors, but its main achievement is the trust of a huge number of people from different parts of the world.
Popular brands that have long been recognized around the world, as a rule, were created by ordinary people. Often the stories of famous brands are an amazing series of coincidences that combine into an incredible string of events, giving birth to legends in front of generations.
If you are planning to launch your own product on the market, KOLORO specialists will help you create, come up with a fascinating story of its development.
- TEFAL
Tefal has long believed that the main motive for buying Teflon-coated pans is that cooking in these pans does not require a single gram of oil to be used. However, later it turned out that the main incentive for their purchase was the fact that frying pans with such a coating are very easy to clean, because food does not stick to their surface. The content of the advertising campaign was changed, which significantly increased its effectiveness. - SNICKERS
In Russia, the first Snickers chocolate bars appeared in 1992 and were positioned as a snack that replaced a full meal. For a long time, the former Soviet consumer could not get used to the fact that you can eat instead of soup for lunch, and bought Snickers as a “sweet for tea”. After the BBDO Moscow agency took over the creative service of the brand, Snickers was repositioned for teenagers, who, for the most part, love everything sweet and do not like it. - Alka-Seltzer
After in the 1960s, in an advertisement for Alka-Seltzer, they began to throw not one, as before, but two tablets into a glass of water, sales of the drug exactly doubled. Tinker & Partners came up with a cunning advertising move.
There is a similar tale about a brilliant marketer who first came up with the idea to indicate in the shampoo instructions that it should be applied to the hair and washed out twice, which led to a double increase in sales. - Pepsi
Pepsi in Russia was first advertised by Nikita Khrushchev. In 1959, at the American National Exhibition in Moscow, in Sokolniki, the then Vice-Richard Nixon, skillfully playing the role of the host, offered Nikita Khrushchev a drink to try. The picture, in which the Soviet leader holds a cup with the Pepsi logo in his hands, did not leave the pages of newspapers and advertising magazines for a long time. That significant moment in the history of the brand is considered Pepsi's "Birthday" in Russia. - Timberland
From the history of Timberland. Timberland was going through hard times in the early 1980s. It produced quality pumps, the price of which was lower than that of the industry leader, Topsiders. It seemed like a good product and low price should have worked for them, but things weren't going well. Then Timberland made a very simple decision: they raised their prices so that they far exceeded the prices offered by Topsiders. Sales have skyrocketed. Which confirms the authenticity of David Ogilvy's statement "The higher the price, the more desirable the product becomes in the eyes of the buyer." - Parliament
At one time, the Parliament tobacco brand went the same way. Initially, its prices were lower than the main competitor Marlboro, and sales were rather modest, as they faced a mass of competitors in a low price category in which no one appreciated the feature of their exclusive filter. Then the brand left the market for a year and re-entered at a price higher than Marlboro, immediately falling into the “premium” niche, where the filter, which was just different from all others, came at the right time. - Woolworth
The founder of the largest Woolworth chain of stores and the inventor of grocery price tags and supermarkets found the right insight that allowed him to make millions, having fainted from fear. A shy and stuttering young man from the village at the age of 21 got a job as a sales assistant in a small shop. At that time, the price of goods in stores placed on the counter behind the seller was not indicated. The seller "by eye" determined the solvency of the buyer and called his price. Then the buyer either bargained or left. Poor Frank did not know how at all and was very afraid to invite buyers, praise the goods, and bargain. He was so afraid that once he even fainted right during work. As punishment, the store owner punished him by leaving him to trade alone for the whole day, threatening that if the revenue was less than the usual daily, he would fire him.
Before the store opened, Frank attached a piece of paper with the lowest possible price (the prototype of the modern price tag) to all the goods. He laid out all the stale goods dumped in the warehouse on a huge table, attaching a sign to it with the inscription "Everything is five cents." He placed the table near the window so that both the goods and the sign could be seen from the street. And shaking with fear, he began to wait for buyers, hiding behind the counter.
All the goods were sold out in a few hours, and the revenue for the day was equal to the weekly one. Buyers, holding the goods in their hands and seeing the price written on it, gave money without haggling.
Frank left the owner, borrowed money and opened his own shop. In 1919, Woolworth's empire consisted of a thousand stores, and Frank's personal fortune was approximately 65 million. - "Guinness Book of Records"
The famous and best-selling (after the Bible) "Guinness Book of Records" is nothing more than a publicity stunt invented by the managing director of the Guinness brewing company, Sir Hugh Beaver. In 1954, at a dinner hosted by the Wexford company for hunters, Hugh Beaver started an argument with one of the guests who flies faster - a plover or a grouse. It was then that it dawned on Beaver that all over the globe during such small gatherings, real disputes about the “very very” are unfolding. He decided that it was worth creating a book that would contain officially confirmed records in various fields.
A year was spent on research work, and on August 27, 1955, the first 198-page book was ready. The success was stunning: even before Christmas, it became a bestseller in the UK, bringing a good income to the beer brand. - Dewar's
In London at the end of the 19th century, brandy, rum and gin were very popular. Therefore, it was not easy to advance. The cunning Thomas Dewar, one of the founders of the family brand, chose an unexpected strategy. He hired shell buyers who visited various pubs, demanding that they pour Dewar's whiskey. Naturally, it was not on sale, and they left. After several such parishes, Dewar himself appeared at the bar and offered to conclude a contract for the supply of whiskey.
In 1892, Thomas Dewar went on a trip around the world. In two years, he visited 26 countries, and 32 agents began working for the company and several Dewar's export companies appeared. The turnover of the company during this time has grown 10 times. And Tommy Dewar wrote his famous book Walk Around the World. - camel
One of the first teaser ads in America was tested by the tobacco brand Camel in 1913. Deciding that a camel is not only a memorable bright picture, but also an excellent occasion for advertising innovations, specialists from the tobacco company RJR, a few days before the first batch of cigarettes went on sale, gave mysterious ads in newspapers in almost ninety American cities. "Camels" - said the first of them. A few later, the message “Camels are coming” appeared, and then - “Tomorrow there will be more camels in the city than in Asia and Africa combined”! The next morning, the frightened and intrigued Americans finally learned the whole truth. "Camel cigarettes are here!" read the final announcement. - IKEA
When the first IKEA stores were opened in the US, already recognized in Europe, furniture sales fell short of expectations. After the study, it turned out that although the Americans liked the simplicity of design, they wanted the furniture to fit the larger sizes of their homes. All that needed to be done was to increase the size of the furniture. - Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble's lead chemist, Victor Mills, who helped his daughter take care of the children, had to repeatedly pull out wet diapers from under his grandchildren, wash and dry them. Of course, he did not like the process and wanted to somehow make his life easier. Then came the idea of a disposable "diaper" - a highly absorbent folded pad that was planned to be placed in specially shaped underpants. After several experiments with different materials, Mills developed a new product for P&G, which they began to produce under the Pampers trademark, which became a household name. - Chupa Chups
Usually, all children, after they eat caramel, their hands become sticky, and they, without hesitation, wipe them on their clothes. A lollipop (originally wooden), which could be sucked, as if on a fork and without soiling clothes, was invented in 1958 by Enrique Bernat. The USP of the product was that it could be sucked without soiling clothes and hands. At the same time, the first Chupa Chups slogan appeared - “It’s round and long-lasting” (~ It is round and long). The innovative stick was appreciated by consumers all over the world, who continued to suck on fruit candy for the 54th year. - Nestle
The original logo of Nestlé, founded in the 60s of the 19th century, looked like this: a nest with three chicks and their mother. As a trademark for his first products, Henri Nestlé used the family coat of arms. At that time, the traditional family was considered to be parents and three children. Later, closer to the middle of the 20th century, the traditions changed. The logo has also changed. Now in the nest, traditionally for Europe, there are only 2 chicks. - Marlboro
The Marlboro brand first appeared in 1924 and was positioned as the first women's cigarettes. A purely feminine slogan was chosen: “Mild as May” - “Tender as May”. Hollywood star Mae West was invited as the face of the brand. The packaging was also aimed at the ladies' audience: the filter with a red stripe solved a double task: to hide the sloppy trace of lipstick and protect the white teeth of women from yellowing. But no matter how hard the advertising specialists tried, the product was not very attractive to women: the breath deteriorated from cigarettes, they turned yellow and there was a painful dry cough. Therefore, in order to survive in the market after two decades, the brand had to change gender.
In order to change the idea of filtered cigarettes as a product "for girls", Philip Morris invited one of the best American advertising specialists - Leo Burnett, who came up with the image of "Cowboy - Prairie Tamer". Cowboy - the embodiment of the American spirit - touched consumers to the quick. The posters were reminiscent of the real heroes of America - brutal guys conquering the wild steppes. They conquered everyone - men and women, blacks and Latinos. In just one year, Marlboro's sales have grown so much that they have become fourth in the ranking of sales of all tobacco products.
In addition, Malrboro began to be produced in the later standard "Flip-top" packaging - a hardboard case with a hinged lid. Such packaging had both purely practical (the cigarettes did not wrinkle) and colossal marketing significance - now the smoker had to demonstrate the pack to others every time he was going to smoke, because it was inconvenient to open the "flip-top" in your pocket. - De Beers
It is known that the consumer does not buy a product, but a solution to his problem. So the South African diamond company De Beers offered men a solution to all their problems with the opposite sex, building on this insight the most ingenious advertising campaign.
In 1948, Harry Oppenheimer, head of De Beers, traveled to N.W. Ayers to meet with the advertising agency. He went there with the firm intention of changing people's ideas about diamonds: it is necessary to make sure that this stone ceases to be a knick-knack of moneybags, but becomes an everyday commodity, without which ordinary people could not do. Advertising posters depicting spectacular actresses with rings on their fingers and earrings in their ears have been replaced by black and white posters with images of diamonds and the inscriptions “Relieves headaches since 1888”, “Think about it. Divorce is more expensive", "No, your wife did not pay for this advertisement (But she told us what newspapers you read)" and so on. So De Beers proved that you can sell luxury to women through their men. - Red Bull
When the drink was introduced to a wide market (Europe, USA), Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Molson, Labatt, and Anheuser-Busch were the main competitors. Everyone had a similar concept - they toned up and stimulated, and the Jolt Cola energy drink contained, among other things, a double dose of caffeine compared to Red Bull.
Then Dietrich Mateschitz took a risky step: he artificially doubled the price compared to his competitors, reduced the volume of containers shaped like a battery, and began placing cans in stores not in the beverage department, but in any other (pay attention when the next once you go to the store - Red Bull cans, along with other energy drinks, can be found almost in the sausage department, including the alcohol one).
In addition, boxes of Red Bull were distributed free of charge to students on university campuses. At the student revels, Red Bull went with a bang, because, by a chance and happy coincidence, it quickly turned out that it fits perfectly with vodka. Thus, the new Red Bull Vodka cocktail, which became very popular, was born. - ARIEL
Rumor has it that the so-called casual fridays, when you can move away from the strict dress code adopted in large companies and change the official suit to casual clothes, was invented by P&G for advertising purposes. In the 80s of the 20th century, the world's largest company P&G was the leader in the US laundry detergent market. But, despite the high advertising activity, the market share did not want to grow. Then the company conducted a study and assessed the clothing care market. As a percentage, it turned out that the powder is used in 65% of cases, and dry cleaning - in 35%. The company further found that 70% of laundry detergent consumers are self-employed and 5 out of 7 days a week wear suits that they take to the dry cleaners.
Further, joint research by P&G and Levi Strauss Jeans has shown that employees in casual wear are more creative and perform much more efficiently than those wearing suits. And what did they do? P&G internally introduces the right to walk on Friday in casual clothes. This news, through the efforts of both companies, received huge coverage in the press, and many corporations followed suit. The laundry detergent market grew by 20%.
Major brands, their logos, products and even slogans are known to almost every inhabitant of the planet. Often, most even know the names and faces of the founders of these companies, since it is difficult for such popular personalities to remain in the shadows. After all, not everyone can create a transcontinental empire.
Nevertheless, there are also such creators who do not like to bask in the rays of glory and popular love. They have enough of the success that the business brings, and the fact that the name of the creator is not written on every billboard does not bother them. It's time to pay tribute to these great people and tell a little about them.
Ferrero - Michele Ferrero
The creator of Kinder Surprise, Ferrero Rocher, Rafaello and Nutella took over the family chocolate business back in 1957. His ideas helped the business grow stronger and eventually turn into a world-famous and beloved brand. Yes, Tic Tac is also Michele's idea. Unfortunately, the creator of the sweet empire passed away at the age of 89.
Lacoste - Rene Lacoste
And the tennis player became the creator of this world-famous brand. In the 1920s, tennis was played in long-sleeved shirts. For one of the tournaments, Rene himself sewed a short-sleeved polo shirt from lightweight knitted fabric. In 1933, Lacoste retired from the sport and organized his own company. Since during his sports career he was nicknamed the Alligator, it is clear where the logo came from.
Nike - Phil Knight
In his youth, Knight was fond of running, but the quality of sports shoes did not suit him at all. Then he founded the company Blue Ribbon Sports, which was engaged in the import of sneakers from Japan. Then, due to supply problems, Phil decided to start his own shoe company. Initially, it was supposed to be called "The Sixth Dimension", but his acquaintances dissuaded him, and today we have an easily recognizable brand.
Pandora - Vinnie and Per Enivoldsen
In 1982, a small jewelry store appeared in Copenhagen, selling jewelry from Thailand. It was opened by the Anivoldsen spouses. In five years, the store has grown into a large company and it was decided to produce jewelry of its own production. In 2000, a self-assembly service became available, and since then, the Enivoldsen are the richest people in Denmark.
Instagram - Kevin Systrom
The creator of the most popular photo network was a student at Stanford when he became interested in photography. Some time later, he managed to get money, and with his friend Mike Krieger, he began developing a suitable platform. To stand out from the competition, the guys came up with special filters. The brand later bought Facebook for a billion dollars, and the number of users is growing by leaps and bounds.
Zara - Amancio Ortega
In the 70s, Amancio and his wife sewed custom-made nightgowns in their own living room, but after a series of failures, the couple decided to start selling the goods on their own. The first store appeared in 1975 in La Coruña. Since then, the company has been renamed Intitex and opened a number of stores: Zara Home, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear, Bershka and many others. In August 2017, Ortega was even recognized as the richest man on the planet.
Starbucks - Howard Schultz
In 1971, the first Starbucks opened in Seattle, a store selling coffee beans and equipment. Only 16 years later, when it was bought by Schultz, who then owned the Il Giornale coffee chain, the establishment began to change. Drawing inspiration from classic Italian coffee houses, Howard Schultz was able to build a world-famous empire.
Hard Rock Cafe - Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett
The Doors, while recording the Morrison Hotel album, stumbled upon a small establishment called the Hard Rock Cafe. They thought it was a funny coincidence, because the album was also recorded in the hard rock genre, so the band members took some photos there, which ended up on the album cover. A year later, they received a call from Morton and Tigrett asking them to allow them to open an establishment with that name. This is where the story of the huge Hard Rock Cafe chain begins.
Today, LifeGlobe brings you the most interesting examples of how luck, luck, or even a spelling mistake can determine the future popularity of a nascent company. We present to your attention the history of the emergence of 20 leading global brands of our time
It was known at all times that its future success depends on the catchy, memorable name of the company. Recently, when creating any large company or for the purpose of rebranding an existing, but unpopular one, the practice of "brainstorming" is most often used - when all employees gather in one room and "throw" their ideas of names on a common table. This is an interesting and correct approach, but sometimes no “brainstorming” can be compared with the will of chance, suggesting completely unexpected ideas or forcing you to make a mistake that will cause the brand to become mega popular in the future…
Of course, in the last words there was a reference to the most famous case of this kind - a typo during the registration of the domain of the most extensive and popular Google search engine today. Initially, Page and Brin's search engine was called BackRab, but at some point they decided that something needed to be changed - in 1997, a brainstorming session was held among students in the dormitory of Stanford University, the purpose of which was to find a name that fit a search engine capable of processing colossal amounts of information. After several inconclusive hours, the idea came to Page himself - the word googol, which meant one with a hundred zeros, but the student who was entrusted with registering the domain name made a typo, as a result of which the google.com domain was born.
In order not to go far, let's remember how Facebook was created - the largest social network in the world at the moment. As you know, the first trick of Mark Zuckerberg was the theft of photographs and data of Harvard students, and posting them on his Facemash website with the ability to vote for a particular photo. But the leadership of the university did not appreciate the resourcefulness of the student and Mark was expelled. After some time, the bright mind of Zuckerberg came up with the idea of another project, much larger and this time completely legal. One day Mark was sorting through old things and accidentally stumbled upon his school photo album "The Photo Address Book". He remembered that no one ever liked this name, because. was long and it took a long time to pronounce it, so everyone called the album simply "Facebook" - this is how the future social network got a name that today is not known except in the most backward countries of the world or some native tribes of South America =)
Another social resource that is popular with us - VKontakte - got its name due to the fact that Pavel Durov, who created it, listened to the Ekho Moskvy radio station, where the phrase "In full contact with information" was often repeated on the air. Without hesitation, Pavel removed unnecessary words and registered a domain name, which has recently been shortened to just two letters VK. Well, I didn’t bother with the logo at all - I used the example of Facebook =)
The name of the Russian search resource Yandex is actually an abbreviation, and it is different in Russian and English - "Language iINDEX" in Russian and "Yet Another iNDEX" in English. About who came up with such an idea, nothing is known for sure, but according to the official version, it was one of the developers of the search engine
Domain name for foreign search engine Yahoo! invented, without knowing it, the Irish writer Jonathan Swift, who called this word the annoying tribe of natives in Gulliver's Adventures. In addition, it is also a joyful exclamation common in America, so the founders of Yahoo! Jerry Yang and David Filo chose just such a name for the domain of the future search resource - in their understanding, "Yahoo!" means the user's joy that he found the necessary information 
The creator of the Hotmail trademark, which is now part of Microsoft, is Sabir Bhatia, who at one time went through a bunch of names ending in "mail" and, in the end, settled on the name Hotmail - due to the fact that it also encrypted HTML abbreviation. The very idea of creating mailboxes that can be accessed from any corner of the planet that has the Internet belongs to Jack Smith. Today, Hotmail is on the brink of shutting down due to the rise of the more user-friendly Outlook.com. In 2013, Hotmail will cease to exist forever, and its users will be automatically transferred to the new mail service.
In order not to go far from the Internet and IT technologies, let's remember one of the leading manufacturers of prestigious new consumer electronics - Apple, whose brand in May 2011 was recognized as the most expensive brand in the world. The history of the name is quite comical - one fine day, after three months of unsuccessful attempts to come up with a name for the company, Steve Jobs threatened his partners that if they did not offer him a normal option before 5 pm, he would name the company after his favorite fruit - an apple ! Didn't offer...
The name of another major electronics manufacturer was decided by a coin - William Hewlett and David Packard tossed it when they decided whose name would appear first in the name of their joint venture, whose first office was Hewlett's garage. It is logical to assume that since the company is called Hewlett / Packard, then the coin turned out to be lucky for the owner of the garage =)
The Japanese company Sony also went through a long search - the creators of "Tokyo tsushin koge kabushiki kaisa" ("Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company") Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuki wanted to find a shorter and more concise name, but could not come up with anything. And then the Latin language came to their aid, and specifically, the word sonus, which translates as "sound". It was the 50s in the yard and in Japan the American word sonny, consonant with it, was widespread, but written in Japanese hieroglyphs it meant "unprofitable". The problem was solved with the simplicity inherent in the Japanese - they deleted the extra N from the name and registered the SONY brand
Another giant Japanese company specializing in the production of digital equipment for home and office - Canon - originally, when created in the 30s of the last century, bore the intricate name Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Japan. But with the creation of the first camera, named for some reason in honor of the Buddhist goddess of mercy Kwanon, the brothers Goro and Saburo Yoshida decided to rename the company and at the same time take several consonant names, including Canon, just in case. Such far-sightedness helped them avoid problems in the future with religious structures that did not like that the name of the great goddess was "some incomprehensible contraption" - as a result, the Yoshida brothers settled on the name Canon, because. it turned out that, in addition to cuteness, it is also translated from English as "canon", and in French it means "cannon" - since that time more and more "photoguns" have been produced =)
The name of the South Korean industrial concern Samsung in translation means "Three Stars". The reason for this name of the company is not known for certain, but many associate it with the three sons of its founder.
The name of the American company Kodak was born thanks to the love of its founder, George Eastman, for the letter "K" - he was looking for short words that would begin and end with this letter. He was also attracted to it by the fact that in all the world's most popular alphabets, the letter "K" is written the same way. As a result, the word “Kodak” was born in Eastman’s head - this is the sound, in his opinion, that the camera invented by him in 1888 made with a film for 100 frames
Copier creator Chester Carlson wanted to emphasize the fact that before his invention - a copier based on dry ink powder - there were only wet copying technologies. Therefore, Chester sat down at the dictionaries and found the word "xer" in Greek, literally translated as "dry", and based on it he came up with a name for his device - "xerox"
In order not to go far, let's remember that in another American state a company was born, whose products we consumed by the liter in the 90s - we are talking about Pepsi-Cola, which the pharmacist Caleb Bradham invented at the end of the century before last. There are several versions of where this name came from. According to a more common one, Caleb named the drink after pepsin, a digestive enzyme that helps our stomach break down protein. According to another version, Bradham simply took the name of the company of one of his local competitors - Pep Cola - and "edited" it a little. The last opinion that you can pay attention to is based on the assumption that people liked that the black drink gave them vigor and strength (from English pep - energy, vivacity) - hence the name
Already in this, the 21st century, Pepsi-Cola was thoroughly replaced by another no less black and no less harmful drink - Coca-Cola. The pharmacist John Stith Pemberton didn’t think about the name for a very long time - he named the main ingredients of his recipe, created on May 8, 1886, three parts of coca leaves (which are so popular in Colombia ...) for one part of tropical cola tree nuts. You can learn about other ingredients in the article What is in everyone's favorite Coca-Cola. According to another version, the name for the drink was invented by a local farmer who sold it to a pharmacist for $250. The Coca-Cola logo was written in calligraphic letters by Pemberton's accountant Frank Robinson - a gifted accountant, judging by the fact that the logo has not changed since then)
An interesting story is also connected with the name of the German industrial concerns Adidas and Puma. Once upon a time, in the 20s of the XX century, two brothers, Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, founded a common company for sewing shoes. They called it unpretentiously - Dassler (full name - "Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory"). In 1948, after the death of their father, the brothers quarreled heavily and decided to continue to go their separate ways. As a result, they agreed that no one would use the name Dassler again. Adolf named his newly formed company Addas, which was later replaced by the more euphoric Adidas (from Adolf's shortened name, Adi Dassler), and brother Rudolf founded the Ruda factory, later renamed Puma. On this, the joint story of the Dassler brothers finally ended.
The Tokyo engineering company Mitsubishi was founded in the early 1870s, the logo was a trefoil - the emblem of the family of the founder of the company, Yataro Iwasaki. As a result, the name "Three Diamonds" was coined from the coat of arms ("mitsu" - "three", "hishi" - "diamond", according to another version of the translation - "water chestnut"). Why doesn't it sound like Mitsuhisi then? The answer lies in the phenomenon of Japanese morphonology, or Randaku, as a result of which the often deaf initial consonants of the root become voiced when reading if there is a prefix or another root before the root of the word. That's why the "h" in the middle of Mitsuhishi is pronounced like "b"
The history of the name of the South Korean financial and industrial group Daewoo is not as interesting as the translation of the name itself, which few people know about, is unusual. The founder of the company, Kim Woo Chong, called it simply and modestly - "Big Universe". Indeed, much more modest)
No less interesting is the name of the German auto giant Audi. The word itself is borrowed from the Latin language and translates as "Listen!", But the main interesting feature is that Audi is the Latin version of the name of the company's founder, August Horch. The fact is that they didn’t really think about the name for the first machine produced at the newly formed plant - they simply called it Horch, but when they began to come up with a name for the next model, the son of one of his partners came to the aid of Augustus, who proposed the Latin version of the head’s surname . Since then, the history of one of the most successful automotive companies in the world begins, which today is part of the Volkswagen Group.
As you can see, some companies were named on a whim, others needed weeks and months to find a suitable name, but all of them, nevertheless, became successful in their economic niches - mainly due to the right choice of name, interesting idea and well-coordinated work of their teams.
Photos from open sources
Our past makes us who we are. Everyone has some kind of story behind them that in one way or another changed their worldview and life. Some stories are quite boring, while others can be listened to with bated breath and wondering what is even possible. This also applies to brands such as those listed below.
1. FedEx Rescue
In the early 1970s, just a few years after FedEx was formed, the fledgling company was already in dire straits, losing up to a million dollars a month. At some point, it seemed that they would not be able to meet their financial obligations. While waiting for his plane, Fred Smith, the company's founder, impulsively boarded a flight to Las Vegas, where he won $27,000 in blackjack. The company was saved.
2.Lamborghini sports cars come from the pride of Enzo Ferrari
Lamborghini was originally a tractor manufacturer. Its owner, Ferruccio Lamborghini, was interested in luxury cars, especially Ferraris. While performing a routine check, Lamborghini discovered that the clutch in his Ferrari was broken. He also noticed that the car used the same clutch as his tractors. When he suggested to Enzo Ferrari that he replace the clutches in his cars with better ones, Ferrari simply kicked him out, saying that he was a tractor manufacturer and knew nothing about racing cars. We all know what happened next.
3 BMW Started Making Cars Because Germany Lost In World War I
Initially, BMW was an aircraft manufacturing company. After Germany's defeat in World War I, all aircraft manufacturing companies had to cease production as part of one of the many terms of the Armistice Treaty signed at Versailles. When the company faced bankruptcy, BMW switched to making motorcycles, and shortly thereafter, in 1928, they began making cars. The current company logo is a tribute to the aviation heritage.
4. Coca-Cola and American Prohibition
Coca-Cola was originally created by John Pemberton, a wounded Confederate colonel who wanted to find something to help him get over his morphine addiction. He called it French Coca Wine, a nerve tonic. When Atlanta passed alcohol prohibition legislation in 1886, Pemberton had to redesign the formula and make a non-alcoholic version of his tonic. He named the drink Coca-Cola, the drink we all know and love.
5. The history of the McDonald's logo
The McDonald's logo is one of the most recognizable in the world, probably second only to Coca-Cola. But the truth is that the name of the owner of the company was not taken into account when creating the logo. The architecture of the original store had golden arches on both sides, because the owner wanted people noticed McDonald's from a distance. Therefore, when creating the logo, this particular architectural feature of the restaurant was taken into account.
6. Meaning of the Nike badge
Originally named BRS (Blue Ribbon Sports), the company was renamed Nike, the winged Greek goddess of victory. The famous symbol symbolizes her wings and speed.
7. The Apple logo is not a tribute to Alan Turing
The truth of creating a famous company logo is far from poetic. The most popular version is that Steve Jobs' favorite fruit was an apple. It also explains why their first computer was named after his favorite variety of McIntosh apple.
8. UPS was founded by 2 kids with a bike and $100
United Parcel Service, or UPS, as you know, started from scratch. In 1907, 19-year-old James Casey founded the company with only $100 borrowed from a friend and a bicycle. The teenager took over as president, CEO and chairman of the company. Today, UPS is one of the largest package delivery companies in the world.
9 Fanta Was Created In Nazi Germany
At the height of World War II, Nazi Germany was subject to several trade embargoes. Due to the lack of raw materials and ingredients, the head of Coca-Cola Deutschland. Max Keith decided to create a new drink for the German market using what they had - "leftover leftovers". The name comes from the German word for fantasy (Fantasie).
10. Puma and Adidas exist because of a family feud.
In the 1920s, brothers Rudolph and Adolf "Adi" Dassler ran the successful Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory. However, during World War II, misunderstandings became noticeable between the brothers. Rudolph was captured by American soldiers and accused of belonging to the Waffen SS, although in reality this was not the case. Rudolph was sure that his own brother had spoken against him. The split created two companies, Rudolph founded Ruda (later renamed Puma), while Adi founded Adidas. They never reconciled, and were buried in the same cemetery, but as far apart as possible.
