A Cool Name Here Might Be a Curse Word There

Imagine building a company’s reputation for over a quarter-century, only to have your name become so toxic that it undermines everything you stand for. After 26 years of operation, Isis Pharmaceuticals found itself sharing an acronym with the infamous terrorist organization. So the company rebranded itself as Ionis Pharmaceuticals, letting go of its name recognition.

In the sports world, the Washington D.C.’s pro football team had a similar experience. After decades of criticism for a name considered disparaging to Native Americans, the NFL franchise abandoned “Redskins” in 2020. After 2 years, they unveiled their new identity, the Washington Commanders.

Perhaps the most visible corporate renaming came in 2021 when PepsiCo transformed its 130-year-old Aunt Jemima brand into Pearl Milling Company. This comprehensive rebrand eliminated imagery and terminology rooted in racial stereotypes that had long been criticized.

As traditional dieting fell out of favor, Weight Watchers chose to rebrand as WW in 2018, embracing a more body-positive image with the new tagline, “Wellness that Works.”

The hospitality industry faced similar challenges. In 2021, the iconic Squaw Valley Ski Resort in California embraced a new identity as Palisades Tahoe, eliminating a derogatory term from its brand.

In Mandarin Chinese, the word “病” (bìng) sounds similar to “Bing”, as in Microsoft’s browser, and means illness, disease, or virus. Although Bing is a made-up name in English, the phonetic overlap caused issues with Chinese speakers. Microsoft localized the brand for Chinese-speaking audiences as 必应 (Bìyìng), meaning “must respond.”

While “Assman” is a legitimate surname in German, it becomes unintentionally humorous and crude in English-speaking markets. The company, which sells sausages and other meat products, continues to operate under the name Assman in Germany. However, products are often relabeled or sold through third-party branding to avoid the obvious language issue.

When pronounced in French, “MR2” (read as “em-er-deux”) sounds almost identical to “merde”, the French word for “sh*t.” This unfortunate homophone made the Toyota model name the subject of jokes and ridicule in French-speaking regions. Toyota marketed the vehicle as “Toyota MR” in French-speaking countries, omitting the “2”.

Mazda introduced its new vehicle named “Laputa” in 1999. It sounds like “la puta” in Spanish, which is a vulgar and highly offensive term for “the whore”. Mazda faced strong backlash due to the word’s slang meaning in Spanish. As a result, the car was not marketed as “Laputa” in Spanish-speaking countries, and the name was eventually discontinued globally.

Coors ran into problems with its tag line “Turn it Loose” in the 1990’s. in Spanish, the phrase loosely translates to “suffering from diarrhea.” The slogan was quietly dropped in the Spanish markets soon after its introduction.

Procter & Gamble introduced its new Puffs brand in the 1960’s but could not use the name in Germany. In German slang, it refers to a brothel. Instead they launched the brand as Tempo in Germany where it has become the preferred tissue brand.

The Chinese tech giant Huawei has struggled with global pronunciation, particularly in Western markets where “Huawei” (pronounced Hwah-way) is often misread. To address this, the company launched public awareness campaigns and pronunciation guides, but it retained the original name.

Founded in Michigan by a Dutch immigrant, Meijer is a prominent U.S. supercenter chain with a name that reflects its heritage. Though often mispronounced as “Mee-jer” or “May-er” by new customers, the company continues to use the original name without modification.

The French automaker Peugeot has long faced pronunciation difficulties in English-speaking countries due to its soft consonants and silent letters (typically pronounced Puh-zho). Despite the challenge, Peugeot has retained its name globally and relies on visual branding to reinforce recognition.

Pfizer changed the name of its antibiotic Zyvoxid to Zyvox in the early 2000s after finding the original name was difficult to pronounce in many regions. The shortened version was more globally accessible for doctors and patients alike.

AstraZeneca changed the name of its drug Losec to Nexium in the late 1990s due to frequent confusion with the similarly named drug Lasix, a safety concern in prescribing. Nexium was chosen for its distinctiveness and easier pronunciation across languages.