The aim of marketing is to make the particular company or ‘brand’ more and more recognizable. For any brand, the ideal is to become so famous and synonymous with the product, that people start using the name of the brand for the product. Over the years, there have been several brands that have become words. However, sometimes it can be a disadvantage for the brand as it can lead to their competition selling their products in their name, for instance, consumers might use the word Coke so generally that they end up buying Pepsi.
In this article, we bring you some of the brands that became common words and whose names have become actual nouns.
Also read: 21 Interesting Facts About Brands
1.) Google
We are all familiar with Google, this web search engine founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page back in 1998. It has become so popular and successful that we all now use the word ‘Google’ as a noun which means to search for something on the web.
Source: Wikipedia
2.) Xerox
Not many people know this but Xerox is actually a company that was founded back in 1906, which manufactured photographic paper and equipment. The company became so synonymous with photo-copying and printing that we now use the word ‘Xerox’ instead of photocopy.
3.) Kiwi
Source: Pixabay
The fruit Chinese Gooseberry is now popularly known as Kiwi around the world. The reason for this is that in 1959, it was decided to change the name of the fruit to the Kiwi bird of New Zealand due to the fruit’s resemblance to the Kiwi bird which is the national bird of New Zealand.It is a perfect example of a brand that became a word.
4.) Jet-Ski
Jet-Ski which is now a word we use for this small boat used for recreational purposes, is actually a brand name of a watercraft product owned by Japanese company Kawasaki. Now the word Jet-ski is used to refer to any kind of personal water
Source: Needpix
5.) Escalator
The term escalator, which originally referred to a type of “moving staircase,” was coined by inventor Charles Seeberger, who merged the words lift and stair (scala). The Otis Elevator Company, which produced the escalator, subsequently lost its trademark as in 1950s the term escalator became so synonymous with moving staircases that the U.S. Patent Office ruled it should fall into the public domain.
Source: Wikipedia Commons
6.) Band-aid
Band-aid, is a brand of bandages which is owned by the American pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. We now use the word ‘band-aid’ to refer to adhesive bandages unknowingly.
Image Source: Unsplash
7.) Auto-tune
Auto-Tune which is a word we now use as a noun was an audio processor which was introduced in 1996 by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It was initially intended to alter the pitch in vocal and instrumental music recordings and performances, and today holds the weight of Tony Kakkar’s career.
Image Source: Wikipedia Commons
8.) Jeep
Jeep is actually an American automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The word jeep actually was used in the 1940s in the military for a particular vehicle type, however, we use the word as a noun to refer to any big SUV-type vehicle made for rough terrain.
Image Source: Wikipedia Commons
9.) Bubble-Wrap
Bubble-wrap is another word we use commonly that is actually trademarked, that is it is actually a brand name owned by a company called Sealed Air Corporation. The word Bubble-wrap is used for the packaging material we are now familiar with. It is another brand that has become a word we use commonly.
Image Source: Wikipedia Commons
10.) Vaseline
Vaseline is the name of an American brand of creams and moisturizers owned by Unilever. This word too is often used generically as a noun for moisturizer.
11.) Frisbee
Frisbee, which is a circular disk is also a common word we use generically which is trademarked. Frisbee is a registered trademark of the Wham-O toy company. The word Frisbee is now used to mean the circular disk.
Image Source: Pixabay
12.) Ping-Pong
Ping Pong was trademarked in 1901 as a brand now owned by Escalade Sports. The word is used interchangeably with Table-Tennis.
Image Source: Wallpaper Flare
13.) Thermos
Thermos is actually a company that was founded in Germany in 1904. The company produced insulated food and beverage containers and other consumer products and became so successful that we use the word ‘thermos’ as a noun for a steel flask.
Image Source: Pixabay
14.) Coke
Coca-Cola, a company established back in 1886, is the most successful beverage company in the world. So much so that the word ‘Coke’ is used so generically that is used as a noun.
Image Source: Pixabay
15.) Zipper
The Zipper was actually originally a trademark of B.F. Goodrich for use in rubber boots. The word is now used as a noun interchangeably for the word ‘zip’
Image Source: Pixabay
16.) Velcro
Velcro, is a British private company founded by George de Mastreal who invented Velcro. The company today is the world’s most famous brand of the device, so much so that we use the word Velcro as a noun and not call it a hook-and-loop fastener.
Image Source: Wikipedia Commons
How many of these were you surprised by, I bet you didn’t see the Velcro one coming in the end. Well, that is it, for now, guys, we come to the end of this article, hope you enjoyed reading it and we will continue to bring you content like this, till then adios!