Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Reebok & Maan Mark Kudaigal

When I was younger than younger can get, it was quite fashionable to name brands after animals. That's why, you had the Tiger Balm, Jaguar, Mustang, Camel Cigarettes, Lion Dates, Red Bull, Happy Cow, Bison Inner wear, Puma & Cheetah Fight matchsticks. The reason was simple. The beast in question has certain instant positive associations. And would be very easy for visual recall in a language-neutral environment. But why have people stopped naming brands after animals? Have they? I think it's back in vogue. Apple's Mac OSX variations are named after big cats - Panther & Leopard. BTW, I just realised that two unlikely brands have the same origin. Reebok is an African deer. And Maan is the tamil deer. So, a global and local brand opted for the same logic. One chose the name for sporty gear and the other for umbrellas. Do you know of any more such parallels?