"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article ,
Ross Herbert wrote:

I think US citizens usually identify products
by
function rather than by brand name alone


Not always though. If one brand has a predominant market share, their
name often becomes a substitute for the generic term. Scotch tape and
post-it notes come to mind. I've never in my life heard anyone say, "do
you have any clear cellophane tape?" And Lazy-Boy to mean any recliner
chair. Non-pilots tend to think that all small airplanes are "Piper
Cubs." A lot of people call any soda "Coke" as in "I'll have a Coke."
(Actually I like Coke, and make damn sure I get it in a restaurant,
rather than Pepsi or any of the other inferior imitations.)

But, it is true that some companies go to great lengths to preserve the
real or imagined integrity of their brands. When photocopiers first came
out, people started saying "here, xerox this for me." The company ran
full page ads in national magazines that said "Xerox is not a verb." And
they won, because people started saying "photocopy" and later "copy."
Damn that must have been an expensive campaign.

Rolls Royce did something similar, after other companies started saying
"Our brand is the Rolls-Royce of televisions" or whatever. Again they
won, with enough financial clout to back their legal threats.


Kleenex comes to mind as well, and Windex, there's a whole load of brands
that have become household names.