Don't Say Velcro

velcro.com

3 points·RandomBacon··6 comments

>We repeat, do not ever say “velcro shoes” (or “velcro wallet” or “velcro gloves”). Ever.

This whole thing is... I can't help but laugh. It almost seems like the company is really insecure. Do they really think that their brand is going to be harmed if some kid is excited about their "Veclro shoes"? I somehow doubt it, but obviously I could be wrong.

I wonder where Velcro would be, if not for the free marketing of being a household name.

They are working hard to avoid loosing the trademark protection of Velcro(R) through "genericization".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_trademark#Avoiding_gen...

Huh, that's really interesting. Is that listed anywhere on the site? I don't know why they didn't just state that front and center, rather than what they have.

And even so, they could do it in a lot friendlier of a way than what I had quoted.

Is there any reason Kleenex, Coke, etc. have not faced this? Kleenex seems much more generalized than Velcro. Or have they? Has any company actually lost their trademark due to generalization?

Yeah, I would think most companies would kill for that kind of brand recognition. So will we see "Don't call it Coke" or "Don't call it Bandaid" campaigns next?

Sadly, Thomas Crapper is no longer here to chime in.

This seems like a marketing stunt. After watching the first 2 seconds of the video, I can confirm this is a marketing stunt.

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