MSN Money

How 12 top brands got their names

Coca-Cola's came from its ingredients, but what about Oreo? Here's how some companies and products came to be known by the names we all recognize.
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VIDEO ON MSN MONEY

37Comments
Aug 17, 2012 1:04PM
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After I reported 13 spam sites for dating everything but a dead body I find there is only 1 legitimate post left. This has gone well beyond stupid MSN!!!!!!!!!!!!! iNTERESTING STORY OTHERWISE.
Aug 17, 2012 9:54AM
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 What I want to know is where "Piggly Wiggly" got its name!  When I first saw that on the side of an eighteen-wheeler in the movie "Smokey and the Bandit," I thought it was a joke.  Then I moved into the South and discovered that it was for real!  Will somebody please tell me where that name came from?!!!
Aug 19, 2012 4:35PM
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Domino's is dropping the word "pizza?" Guess they're finally admitting that stuff ain't pizza.
Aug 19, 2012 9:27PM
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you can still get Slinkys for a dollar. Must be the only thing not affected by the economy.
Aug 19, 2012 4:02PM
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MSN, great story. I enjoyed reading about the past and how iconic products became. Being an inventor for the past 30 years, I can identify with the problems and solutions you showcased. People have little understanding of what goes into the development of an idea. I love the story and never get tired of reading about this topic. P.S. Yes, I have products that are still being sold after 20 yrs of inventing them. All the best.
Aug 22, 2012 4:01PM
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I was a little disappointed in the Oreo description...why have it on the list if there's no explanation for the name?  Find another product to talk about.
Aug 19, 2012 8:51PM
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Boy, they just breezed past the fact that a "coca leaf" is cocaine!! They don't put cocaine in it anymore, but they used to!
Aug 23, 2012 4:23AM
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Someone should investigate on where our favorite cookie is made.  It now says 'global' on the bags with no mention on where it is manufactured.  Look where Fig Newtons are made!
Aug 22, 2012 7:56PM
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I am impressed - the next 9 posts are dating spam...... I didn't think there were that many old fat balding farts with a lot of money reading these comments.
Oct 5, 2012 11:04PM
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Wat about Gillette razors and blades?
Aug 20, 2012 2:25AM
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Always watch & listen but don't make any comment. your comment will change nothing.
Aug 22, 2012 8:00PM
Aug 23, 2012 11:32AM
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They sould have said the reason why they were named that becuz for 1 thing i want to know
Aug 17, 2012 3:54PM
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I named my business "Business Zooks" for some of the same reasons other odd names were chosen. I like using a "Z",  two "oo's" and the "K" - plus it is a one syllable name that is fun to say!  And whenever people see my business name they ask me about it - which gives me a chance to talk about my new business!

Aug 19, 2012 11:06PM
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The  oil man Armand Hammer for years tried to buy Arm And Hammer but not avail.  Also, the name Steve Jobs and how he named Apple would be very interesting to know.  There is a man involved in the largest Gold/Copper mine in the world in Mongolia that could tell you all about it.   Jobs came up with the name while he was in the man's apple orchard.
Aug 19, 2012 6:08PM
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Starbucks?  You are so wrong on this one.  The name was 'stolen' from Arbuckles Coffee as was the logo. Check out the similarities. Of course they will never admit this....do your friggin homework and quit trying to be politically correct.  this is a no brainer you missed big time. 
Aug 19, 2012 6:46PM
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5 guys, mediocre burgers for a premium price and I certainly would not call them iconic in any way. Just shows americans have no taste but then look at mcdonalds and their grey burgers.
Aug 22, 2012 4:28PM
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Look at it this way under romney and Ryan These companies will get larger with more tax cuts and welfare. They will kill, maim, and injure more people because of relaxed rules and regulations, and they will hire fewer people because there will be no incentive to hire. Why hire more people when you can work the ones you have to death or mental breakdown, pay the ones you have less or offer raises less often because that would raise you taxes that the government under Republicans would make you pay less of. When one dies or quits hire another.

 

Before Reagan when the taxes on the wealthy were 90%, we were still the mots powerful company on the planet by far. The only way business and the wealthy could make money was to GROW their companies and businesses. That meant spending money to expand and expand by hiring many more people. There was a deduction per employee. A deduction for newer physical plants or major refits of older ones. When Reagan reduced their taxes by almost 60%, they quickly figured out that we can make 3 times the money with only one third the people and still get to use all these loopholes without building newer plants!

 

This country has been in one financial crisis of scandal since then. Markets have been volatile, and most medium sized and small companies  have been devoured by the big ones! Hell we don;t even manufacture TV's in this country anymore. The country that invented it! Those millions of jobs went with it! It wasn't the average American that sent the technology and jobs overseas!

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And how many people did Tom Monaghan and his pizza chain injure, maim, or kill in the 80's with their "30 minutes or it's free" campaign? Did he put a dot on the logo for everyone who's life his drivers ruined? But hey, the Monaghan Family were such "good Catholics", so as long as they donated to their faith all would be forgiven! Maimers, killers and hypocrites! Put that on my pizza!!!!
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