I think we’ve all heard of this concept, a brand name that becomes the common term for something—like Band-Aid™, Hula hoop™, Tupperware™, Aspirin, etc. All of those are former or current brand names of things. They’re called genericized trademarks and I think the idea of them is common knowledge. I find that a lot of people have a short list of them in their head, but after checking out the list of generic and genericized trademarks, I saw there are many more than I imagined. My favorites:
- Heroin – Strong brand, many customers are just dying to get it
- Bubble Wrap™ – Possibly the most fun thing on the list to play with (unlike heroin, is vulnerable to needles)
- Hacky Sack™ – Because the generic term is “foot bag”
- Lava lamp™ – Who knew it wasn’t real lava?
- Stetson™ – Because I talk about cowboy hats so much
- Taser™ – Since “tase” has become a verb for many of us
Also, this serves as a quick reminder that corporations and their marketing own us all, even the way we speak. Now I know a few more words to start avoiding in my feeble attempt to stop sounding like a commercial every time I open my mouth.
