Thursday, March 5, 2009

any other name

i had this random thought.

we call tissues Kleenex. we call bandages Bandaids. we call cotton swabs Q-Tips. we call DVR machines TiVo. there are all kinds of products that we commonly refer by a brand name, regardless of whether they are actually Puffs or some store brand or truly a box of Kleenex tissues. and we all know what the person is referring to.

which makes me wonder... is the material used on my kitchen floor really linoleum? or is that just another brand name that has become an accepted general product name over time?

5 with their own thoughts:

Anonymous,  Thursday, March 05, 2009 10:22:00 AM  

I think about this all the time. I always say Tampax or Kotex and I'm definitely guilty of saying Kleenex and Band-Aids. I've also said Scott Towels instead of paper-towels! See what the world of brand marketing has done to us?!

Michelle Quinno Thursday, March 05, 2009 4:12:00 PM  

LOL, too funny and so true! How about crocs? There are tons of fakes out there now. I can't think of any more right at the moment but there are tons!

Nichole M Thursday, March 05, 2009 4:32:00 PM  

This very issue has actually cause confusion in the operating room. There is this surgeon who is very fastidious and precise with his words. And he *refused* to give into brainwashing from Madison Avenue.

So he would ask for CTAs. Meaning cotton tipped applicators. Meaning *q-tips.* No joke.

*krystyn* Thursday, March 05, 2009 8:56:00 PM  

Nichole-wow on the Qtips. Eeks.

I'm terribly guilty of the Kleenex one. I use Qtips brand, so I call them Qtips. I am also guilty of the BandAid one too...not all my bandages are BandAid brand. Oops!

~**Dawn**~ Thursday, March 05, 2009 10:11:00 PM  

Pocklock: It's crazy how effectively marketing burrows these things into our lives!

mamichelle: There really are! These were the only ones I could come up with off the top of my head. Of course. =P

Nichole: Sheesh! Couldn't he have at least gone with "cotton swabs"??

Krystyn: It's amazing how it just becomes part of our vocabulary without even thinking, huh?

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