Memorable for Odd Reasons (2)

 

Some of the more unfortunate combinations actually can’t be blamed on happenstance so much as on a plain-old-ordinary tin ear, when it comes to assessing how names can register with people who aren’t thinking along the same lines as the proprietors.  Thus we have Burns Engine Service (would you like to have yours burned?) Gory Electric (what sort of Edgar Allen Poe-ish stuff might be left behind between the walls?), and South Coast Mold (a subsidiary of Mildew International?).

Rather than just accepting the family names that fate has dealt them, most businesses eventually bite the bullet and come up with something of their own devising.  Some don’t take too high a creative leap:  I’d need convincing that a name like JCG Enterprises represents anything more than somebody’s initials.  However, some businesses manage to come up with names that are almost transcendent.  Anybody who has lived in Southern California ought to apprehend what’s behind I’m Not Really a Waitress.   Ray Gun Publishing also has a winning ring, provided the company produces comic books or the like.  And if they’re sure of their markets, Rat City Skateboards and Stoopid Clothing Inc. both get my enthusiastic thumbs-up.

A perennial problem with inventiveness, though, is that what may seem a brilliant inspiration to the proprietor may fall a bit short in the regard of potential customers.  For example, would anybody really call Kwality of America, Inc. for a consultation on how to improve their products?

There are almost infinitely more cloying variants of "creative" monikers, including Darling’s Flowers, The Fishy Farmacy, and My Big Truck (unless this is for children, who in the world would be interested in a cutesy semi?).

© COPYRIGHT 1998 ROBERT WINTER.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

---