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Are Obnoxious Brand Names Good Marketing?
  by:  |  Apr 15, 2008
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Last updated on December 20th, 2019 at 04:42 pm

There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.
Brendan Behan

In the latest product name to cause me to question the wisdom of Mr. Behan’s quote, take a look at this article. The article concerns a product called Antipoleez, a picture of which is below:

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According to the company website, the product “Eliminates Alcohol and Tobacco Breath.” The site even says that the product should be used when “You had a few drinks and don’t want others to know you did.” But despite that statement, the picture of the sexualized female police officer, the “Frat Pack” and “Night Out Pack” ordering options and the fact that the name is essentially saying “anti-police,” this press release from the company who makes the product claims that the product is not designed to affect the ability of police to check for drunk driving. The product is obviously being sold on the concept that it can keep police from smelling alcohol.

Is this good marketing? I don’t believe it is. As the article cited above notes, a similarly controversially named item, an energy drink called Cocaine wasn’t even able to get to the market. While controversy can create a buzz for a product, this sort of extreme is just begging for problems and a quick death for the product.

In addition, there is the issue of the reputation of your brand as a whole. Does a controversial name enhance or diminish your brand? It becomes a balancing test between the short term economic value of a controversial product against the damage that same controversy can do to your brand as a whole.

But the question remains: Exactly how far is too far in naming a brand? As the title asks, are obnoxious brand names good marketing?

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