Text and photo by West Coast Editor Steve Casimiro
Pity outdoor industry product managers. Every spring and fall, they're required to name 20 new things. Or 30. Or if they work for the North Face or Columbia, 6,482. That’s 20 or 30 or 6,482 clever, creative, and unique names that so perfectly embody the pants, packs, and parkas that they sell themselves. Yeah, right. I’ve actually given a dictionary of topographical terms as a lifeline to a few desperate cases.
Which might explain sudden popularity of products named “fen” that next spring. Sorry, everyone.
In
any event, let us give props to the companies with enough cojones to
let their goofiest, silliest, and most creative names off the leash and
out of the conference room. These fun little aberrations are a blessed
relief. And, who knows, maybe they even help sell:
“It’s just another messenger bag.”
“No, it isn’t, it’s the Tony Blair Squirrel.”
“Ohhh, cool! I want one.”
I always wondered how these products got there names. Do you drink a pot of coffee take 5 ephederine and get locked up into a rubber room until the job is finished?
Posted by: discount north face jackets | December 16, 2008 at 08:10 AM
Ah yes, Steve...good points there. As a former "naming guru" here at OR, I have to say that coming up with unique, proper, and names that talk about the product, purpose, etc. is like pushing string uphill. It's just not easy to do sometimes.
Posted by: Todd Walton | May 19, 2008 at 06:05 PM