Major brands, their logos, products and even slogans are known to almost every inhabitant of the planet. Often, most even know the names and faces of the founders of these companies, since it is difficult for such popular personalities to remain in the shadows. After all, not everyone can create a transcontinental empire.
Nevertheless, there are also such creators who do not like to bask in the rays of glory and popular love. They have enough of the success that the business brings, and the fact that the name of the creator is not written on every billboard does not bother them. It's time to pay tribute to these great people and tell a little about them.
Ferrero - Michele Ferrero
The creator of Kinder Surprise, Ferrero Rocher, Rafaello and Nutella took over the family chocolate business back in 1957. His ideas helped the business grow stronger and eventually turn into a world-famous and beloved brand. Yes, Tic Tac is also Michele's idea. Unfortunately, the creator of the sweet empire passed away at the age of 89.
Lacoste - Rene Lacoste
And the tennis player became the creator of this world-famous brand. In the 1920s, tennis was played in long-sleeved shirts. For one of the tournaments, Rene himself sewed a short-sleeved polo shirt from lightweight knitted fabric. In 1933, Lacoste retired from the sport and organized his own company. Since during his sports career he was nicknamed the Alligator, it is clear where the logo came from.
Nike - Phil Knight
In his youth, Knight was fond of running, but the quality of sports shoes did not suit him at all. Then he founded the company Blue Ribbon Sports, which was engaged in the import of sneakers from Japan. Then, due to supply problems, Phil decided to start his own shoe company. Initially, it was supposed to be called "The Sixth Dimension", but his acquaintances dissuaded him, and today we have an easily recognizable brand.
Pandora - Vinnie and Per Enivoldsen
In 1982, a small jewelry store appeared in Copenhagen, selling jewelry from Thailand. It was opened by the Anivoldsen spouses. In five years, the store has grown into a large company and it was decided to produce jewelry of its own production. Service became available in 2000 self assembly decorations, and since then the Enivoldsens are the richest people in Denmark.
Instagram - Kevin Systrom
The creator of the most popular photo network was a student at Stanford when he became interested in photography. Some time later, he managed to get money, and with his friend Mike Krieger, he began developing a suitable platform. To stand out from the competition, the guys came up with special filters. The brand later bought Facebook for a billion dollars, and the number of users is growing by leaps and bounds.
Zara - Amancio Ortega
In the 70s, Amancio and his wife sewed custom-made nightgowns in their own living room, but after a series of failures, the couple decided to start selling the goods on their own. The first store appeared in 1975 in La Coruña. Since then, the company has been renamed Intitex and opened a number of stores: Zara Home, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear, Bershka and many others. In August 2017, Ortega was even recognized as the richest man on the planet.
Starbucks - Howard Schultz
In 1971, the first Starbucks opened in Seattle, a store selling coffee beans and equipment. Only 16 years later, when it was bought by Schultz, who then owned the Il Giornale coffee chain, the establishment began to change. Drawing inspiration from classic Italian coffee houses, Howard Schultz was able to build a world-famous empire.
Hard Rock Cafe - Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett
The Doors, while recording the Morrison Hotel album, stumbled upon a small establishment called the Hard Rock Cafe. They thought it was a funny coincidence, because the album was also recorded in the hard rock genre, so the band members took some photos there, which ended up on the album cover. A year later, they received a call from Morton and Tigrett asking them to allow them to open an establishment with that name. This is where the story of the huge Hard Rock Cafe chain begins.
Myths and legends have long been a condition for the success of the brand in the market. A product that cannot be told a story is not a brand. Well-known brands are shrouded in myths and legends, half of which are real facts from the history of their creation, and half are the fruit of the imagination of marketers. Western companies even have a special term "storytelling".
IKEA
When the first IKEA stores were opened in the US, already recognized in Europe, furniture sales fell short of expectations. After the study, it turned out that although the Americans liked the simplicity of design, they wanted the furniture to fit the larger sizes of their homes. All that needed to be done was to increase the size of the furniture.
Western Union
Western Union owned almost all of the telegraph in the United States. At the very beginning of his commercial activity, Alexander Bell, who at that time had a lot of debts, turned to WU, offering to buy out the patent for the phone for only 100 thousand dollars, but the company refused to spend the money, considering the phone to be a "toy" product. When the understanding of all the possibilities of telephone communication came, the WU leaders decided not to contact Bell and create their own system. However, Bell, who founded his own telephone company, sued WU and won. So Western Union lost the telephone business, which reduced the demand for its main service - telegraph communication.
Pampers
Procter & Gamble's lead chemist, Victor Mills, who helped his daughter take care of the children, had to repeatedly pull wet diapers from under his grandchildren, wash and dry them. Of course, he did not like the process and wanted to somehow make his life easier. Then came the idea of a disposable "diaper" - a highly absorbent folded pad that was planned to be placed in specially shaped underpants. After several experiments with different materials Mills designed for P&G New Product, which began to be produced under the Pampers trademark, which has become a household name.
Chupa Chups
The Chupa-Chups brand was founded in Spain in 1958 of the last century as part of the Granja Asturias company. Enrique Bernat was the first to create a lollipop (originally made of wood) that you could suck on without getting your clothes and hands dirty. The design of the brand logo to the owner of the company Enrique Bernat "by acquaintance" drew famous countryman Salvador Dali. It was he who in 1969 came up with the shape of a flower for the Chupa Chups logo, which, with minor modifications, successfully survived to today. He also suggested placing the logo not on the side, but on top of the candy.
Land Rover
The Land Rover brand emblem has remained essentially untouched for six decades. They say that a jar of sardines inspired the creators to develop the logo. She was allegedly forgotten on the drawings by one of the engineers. The oil print from the can was copied and offered as a silhouette for the emblem of the new car.
Coca Cola
Coca-Cola was invented by pharmacist John Pemberton, consisted of coca leaves and kola nuts, patented as medicine from nervous disorders and was sold in pharmacies. Cocaine was not a banned substance at that time, and nothing was known about its harm to health, so it was often added to drinks instead of alcohol for pleasure and tone - Coca-Cola was not an innovation in this. When cocaine was banned, Coca-Cola was partly blamed for its popularization. Cocaine was excluded from the drink, but the positioning of the product did not change and popularity increased exponentially.
Lacoste
The captain of the French tennis team promised a crocodile suitcase to René Lacoste if he won the Davis Cup. Because of this dispute, which, by the way, was won by Rene, the American press nicknamed the tennis player "alligator". In France, the nickname Lacoste was changed to "crocodile" and stuck with him also because of his stubborn and tenacious behavior on the court. Robert George, a friend of Lacoste, drew a crocodile for him, which was later embroidered on a short-sleeved shirt in which the athlete competed.
Swarovski
Daniel Swarovski created the world's first electric grinding machine for cutting crystal and precious stones, which allowed him to streamline the process of creating rhinestones. Rhinestones were named after the famous 18th-century fraudster jeweler Georges Frederic Strass, who passed off faceted crystal fragments as diamonds. Thanks to the flair and taste of Swarovski, the imitation has risen to the same level as the original, and the name has become a world famous brand.
Apple
According to one of the legends, Apple owes its logo, a bitten apple, to a brilliant mathematician, the progenitor of the modern computer, who made a huge contribution to computer science and suffered for his unconventional sexual orientation, Alan Turing.
Turing was homosexual, which was against the law in Britain at the time, and homosexuality was considered a mental illness. In 1952, Turing was charged with sodomy and convicted. He was offered a choice of two sentences - either imprisonment or suppression of libido with the help of injections of the female hormone estrogen, which in fact was chemical castration. The scientist chose the latter.
One of the effects was growing breasts and decreased libido. In addition, as a result of the conviction, he lost his job and the right to work in the field of cryptography. For a whole year, the scientist lived in seclusion, and then committed suicide by poisoning with potassium cyanide. Turing injected a solution of cyanide into an apple, biting which he died. The apple was found on the nightstand next to the dead body.
Nestle
The original logo of Nestlé, founded in the 60s of the 19th century, looked like this: a nest with three chicks and their mother. As a trademark for his first products, Henri Nestlé used the family coat of arms. At that time, the traditional family was considered to be parents and three children. Later, closer to the middle of the 20th century, the traditions changed. The logo has also changed. Now in the nest, traditionally for Europe, there are only 2 chicks.
Ariel
Further, joint research by P&G and Levi Strauss Jeans has shown that employees in casual wear are more creative and perform much more efficiently than those wearing suits. And what did they do? P&G internally introduces the right to walk on Friday in casual clothes. This news, through the efforts of both companies, received huge coverage in the press, and many corporations followed suit. The laundry detergent market grew by 20%.
Pirelli
In 2002, Pirelli broke with more than forty years of tradition and released their famous calendar with photographs of women dressed rather than naked. On the cover of the publication was placed a photo of a girl in an autumn coat, and the seventeen-year-old niece of then-US President George W. Bush was chosen as the model. Lauren Bush, the granddaughter of the 41st President of the United States (Bush Sr.), was just happy and shared her emotions with reporters: “I talked to my grandparents, and they were happy. And when I said that I would be in clothes in the photo, they were even more delighted.
Absolut
Uncle Ben's
The prototype of Uncle Ben is Frank Brown, the maitre d' of one of the pre-war Chicago restaurants frequented by Mars management in its time. The image of Uncle Ben is tied to American folklore. One of the old stories tells about a black farmer who was known throughout the country for the excellent quality and taste of rice he grew.
Michelin
At the beginning of the twentieth century, especially in the twenties, each large factory or small workshop acquired its own brand name. These were the heroes of mythology, and images of animals (the Peugeot lion and the Lacoste crocodile), and symbols created from the company's products, such as Bibendum. Bibendum was created by the cartoonist O'Galop in 1898, who brought to life the idea of André Michelin. The myth goes that at the bike tire show all the models were stacked on top of each other. The resulting stack in shape was very reminiscent of a fat man. For more than 100 years Bibendum has undergone strong changes, but remained a character of the Michelin concern.
Mazda
Zoom-zoom is an imitation of the sound of a fast moving object. “Zoom-zoom” is spoken by English-speaking boys playing with cars. And this is how Mazda creates the image of a brand with a sporty character, capable of introducing the buyer into a truly childish delight with its drive. By the way, when talking about Ferrari they use the expression “Vroom-vroooom”, and the Mini Cooper does “Beep-beep”.
Heinz
Red Bull
The Red Bull energy drink was born in 1982, when Dietrich Mateschitz, while on a business trip to East Asia, became interested in the already widespread energy drinks there. He acquired licensing rights to the well-known Thai brand Krating Daeng (translated from Thai as “red bull”) and to use the recipe of Taisho Pharmaceuticals (Japan). When the drink was introduced to a wide market (Europe, USA), Coca-Cola was also the main competitor , and Pepsi, and Molson, and Labatt, and Anheuser-Busch.The concept was similar for everyone - they toned up and stimulated, and the Jolt Cola energy drink contained, among other things, a double dose of caffeine compared to Red Bull.
Then Dietrich Mateschitz took a risky step: he artificially doubled the price compared to his competitors, reduced the volume of containers shaped like a battery, and began placing cans in stores not in the beverage department, but in any other (pay attention when the next once you go to the store - Red Bull cans, along with other energy drinks, can be found almost in the sausage department, including alcohol).
In addition, boxes of Red Bull were distributed free of charge to students on university campuses. At the student revels, Red Bull went with a bang, because by a chance and happy coincidence, it quickly turned out that it fits perfectly with vodka. Thus, a new, very popular Vodka Red Bull cocktail was born.
Hewlett Packard
HP founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whose name would come first. As you can imagine, Bill won.
Adidas and Puma
It is known that Adidas got its name in honor of one of the founders, Adolf Dasler. And Puma was created by his brother Rudolf Dasler. There is a legend that the father of the Dasler brothers worked all his life as a baker. Adolf and Rudolf Dasler together opened a workshop for tailoring sports shoes to order. Adolf had the qualities of a designer, Rudolf - a marketer.
After the Second World War and the death of their father, the brothers had a serious quarrel and divided the no longer small Dassler company (about 60 people) in half. It happened in the German town of Herzogenaurach, which the quarrel of the brothers also divided into two parts. The workers of these factories went only to their taverns, drank different beers, their children attended different schools. The companies maintained their own football teams.
And until now, an employee of one company is waiting for immediate dismissal if he is seen wearing shoes or clothing made by a competitor.
Each well-known brand has its own emblem, by which it is recognized. Usually this logo is small and simple, but some of them are elaborate and mysterious. The history of the appearance of such specific logos of several of the world's most influential fashion houses is in this article.
Lacoste
An old and respected brand. Their logo - a tiny green alligator - is known to everyone who loves fashion. In 1927, during the Davis Cup, the American press nicknamed Lacoste "the alligator" because of a dispute over which the winner of the tournament got an alligator leather suitcase. In France, Lacoste's nickname was changed to "crocodile" and stuck with him because of his stubborn and tenacious behavior on the court, where Lacoste never forgave his opponents for mistakes.Robert George, a friend of Lacoste, drew a crocodile for him, which was later embroidered on the blazer in which the athlete performed, and then fixed as a logo for all things produced by the company.
Fendi
In 1925, the brand appeared as the name of a married couple who opened their first store. And only in 1952, the Fendi family decided to invite a professional designer, the German Karl Lagerfeld, who laid the foundation for the brand, making it the way we see it now. The designer also developed a memorable logo that is still used today. The double letter "F" apparently symbolizes the Fendi spouses.
Chanel
The famous Chanel logo was first shown to the fashion world in 1925 on a bottle of Chanel No. 5. There are several versions about the origin of the drawing. One story says that two crossed horseshoes are a symbol of success and good luck. However, most fashion historians are inclined to believe that the emblem is the initials of Coco Chanel, the founder of the French design house.
Calvin Klein
November 19, 1942 is the date of birth of the famous designer. Starting his atelier with the production of men's outerwear, Klein gradually moved on to the design of clothing for women. In the 1970s, the designer adapted the classic men's suit for women's fashion. In 1970, he introduced the PeaCoat (pea coat), a double-breasted short coat with wide lapels.
This model has become not only a hit of the season, but also determined the fashion of the upper women's clothing for almost a whole decade. The company logo - CK is easy to remember and gives a connection with the brand. The dark color emblem is used on Haute Couture clothing, the gray emblem is for regular garments, while the white emblem is for sportswear.
Hermes
Erme is a French design corporation that is directly associated with impeccable taste and first-class style. Erme's designer logo depicts
a horse with a carriage, which is very symbolic for the brand - the history of the company began in 1837, when Thierry Hermès founded a private company for the production of harnesses for horses. Hermes is the surname of the founder.
The next five generations of this family constantly expanded production, creating a real Hermes empire. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Hermès production was supplemented by leather haberdashery and luggage bags. At the same time, a unique technology for processing leather products with a special, “saddle” seam was applied. This is how the Hermes style was born.
Burberry Prorsum
The company's success began with the invention of a waterproof material - gabardine - and its use in raincoats and long waterproof coats for soldiers. In 1901, Burberry already had a large order for these clothes. He marked the order with his new emblem - a horse rider in armor and a spear in his hand was registered as a trademark of the brand. The knight's costume was a copy from the original.
The Latin word "Prorsum", used in heraldry as a motto meaning "Forward", reflects the company's desire for progressive innovation, and the spear is a symbol of the protection of tradition.
Versace
The Versace logo is symbolically linked to Greek mythology. The head of the Gorgon Medusa, as conceived by the couturier, symbolizes the fact that he turns the audience into stone with his collections. The designer's logo was invented in 1978 by Gianni Versace himself, who was obsessed with classic themes. Thus, the jellyfish was the best option for him, since it was she who he considered "the embodiment of fatal attraction."
Everything ingenious is simple. Collected in this material are short stories of the origin of names worldwide famous brands once again confirm this law of life.
Adidas
The founder of Adidas was named Adolf Dassler, Adi for short. His first company was called even more unpretentious - Dassler, but by agreement with the co-founder of Dassler, brother Rudolf, with whom they had a strong quarrel 60 years ago, none of them had the right to use this name anymore.
Adobe Systems
In 1982, forty-year-old Xerox programmers John Warnock and Charles Geschke quit their jobs and formed a software company. They named it Adobe, after the creek that ran behind Warnock's house.
Apple
Apple is the favorite fruit of company founder Steve Jobs. After three months of vain attempts to find a name for a new business, he gave his partners an ultimatum: “I will name Apple if by 5 o’clock you don’t offer a better one.” Apple Macintosh is the name of a variety of apples sold in the United States.
Audi
Audi is translated from Latin as "listen!". This is the Latin version of the name of the founder of the company - August Horch
bmw
BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke. English version - Bavarian Motor Works.
Canon
In 1930 in Japan, Goro Yoshida and his half-brother Saburo Uchida formed a company with the name Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Japan, which tells us nothing. Four years later, development led to the creation of their first camera, which they named the Kwanon, after the thousand-armed Buddhist deity of mercy.
The company registered to protect its trademark a lot of words that were similar in sound to Kwanon. One of them - Canon, already known to us - eventually replaced the original name due to disagreements with religious figures. From English Canon is translated as "Canon", and from French - "Cannon".
Casio
In honor of the company's founder, Kashio Tadao.
Cisco
Short for San Francisco.
Coca Cola
The main ingredients of Coca-Cola, at the opening of the drink, were as follows: three parts of coca leaves (from the same leaves the drug cocaine was obtained) to one part of the nuts of the tropical cola tree.
Compaq
From Comp and paq (small integrated part).
corel
In honor of the founder of the company, Michael Copeland (Dr. Michael Cowpland). Stands for COwpland REsearch Laboratory (Copeland Research Laboratory).
Daewoo
The founder of the company, Kim Woo Chong, called the company modestly, "Big Universe", which is translated from Korean.
FIAT
The company was founded in 1899. Fiat is short for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin). In addition, this abbreviation can be translated from Latin as an independent word, often used in church life - "let it be."
Fuji
Everything is very simple here, in honor of the highest and most famous mountain in Japan, Mount Fuji.
This is the second name of the most famous search engine in the world, the first was BackRub. But soon it was replaced by Google. This is a slightly altered word "googol", denoting the last of the numbers that have at least some meaning - one with a hundred zeros.
hallmark
One of the most famous companies in the world in the industry of congratulations (postcards, etc.). The word Hallmark refers to the hallmark that English guild masters have been putting on their products since the 14th century, as evidence that the guild vouches for quality.
Honda
The name of the founder is Soichiro Honda.
hot mail
Founder Jack Smith came up with the idea of accessing e-mail via the web from anywhere in the world. When Sabeer Bhatia showed up with a business plan for this service, he went through all the words ending in "mail" and eventually settled on hotmail, as the name contained the letters HTML (web page markup language).
HP (Hewlett-Packard)
Founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whose name would come first in the title. As you can imagine, Bill won.
Hyundai
In Korean, "present" (time).
IBM
IBM was founded in 1924, its name stands for International Business Machines ("International Business Machines").
IKEA
Ingvar Kamprad (founding father) lmtaryd (home farm) A gunnaryd (home village in Småland, Sweden, where young Ingvar Kamprad was born and started his pen mail business).
Intel
Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name the company Moore Noyce, but by that time there was already a chain of hotels with that name. So they decided to stick with INTegrated Electronics.
Kodak
K is the favorite letter of George Eastman, the founder of the company. He looked for words beginning and ending with this wonderful letter. Moreover, in all alphabets "K" is written the same way. In the end, Kodak was chosen, supposedly this is the sound the camera makes when shooting.
Lego
It comes from two Danish words: leg (play) and got (good). And in Latin, lego means “I read”, “I connect”.
LG
Initially, these were two separate organizations: the cosmetics company Lucky Chemical Industrial (since 1947) and the GoldStar radio-electronic plant (since 1958). After the merger, the company received the name Lucky Goldstar, and in 1995 changed it to LG Electronics, simply shortening the name to an abbreviation.
Microsoft
MICROcomputer SOFTWARE. Originally written as Micro-Soft. Then the dash was removed.
Mitsubishi
Invented by the founder of the company Yataro Iwasaki (Yataro Iwasaki) in 1870. in Japanese, mitsu means three, and hishi means diamond. The letter "b" turned out to be the sixth not because of a mistake, but because the Japanese usually pronounce "h" in the middle of a word like "b". As for the logo, contrary to popular belief, it is he who is primary, and not the name. And it looks like this because the shamrock was the family crest of the founder of the company.
Motorola
Founder Paul Galvin came up with the name when his company was starting to manufacture car radios. The names of many audio component manufacturers at that time ended with "ola", the fashion was so strange.
NEC
Abbreviation for Nippon Electric Company, Ltd, which was made redundant in 1983.
Nike
In 1978, Blue Ribbon Sports was officially renamed Nike, Inc. It is believed that the name is taken from the name of the goddess of victory Nike.
Nikon
Originally Nippon Kogaku, means "Japanese optics".
nintendo
Composite of three Japanese characters "Nin-ten-do", which can be translated as "heaven bless hard work". Playing is so hard.
Nissan
Formerly known as Nippon Sangio, meaning "Japanese Industry".
Nokia
In 1865, Knut Fredrik Idestam founded a paper and pulp mill in southwestern Finland. The company began to bear the name Nokia after it moved to the banks of the Nokianvirta River in the city, in fact, Nokia. The very word "Nokia" in Finnish means a dark, very furry animal, something like an ermine.
Pepsi
First made in the 1890s in New Bern, North Carolina by pharmacist Caleb Bradham. On August 28, 1898, Brad's drink was renamed Pepsi-Cola. The Pepsi-Cola trademark was registered on June 16, 1903. According to one version, Caleb Bradham derived the name "Pepsi" from the word pepsin (a digestive enzyme that helps break down protein). According to another version, Caleb Bradham borrowed the name "Pep Kola" from one of the local competitors, slightly corrected it and called his drink Pepsi-Cola.
According to another version, Caleb and his visitors simply liked the sound of this word, because it reflected the fact that the carbonated drink gave some vigor and energy (pep - good spirits, energy, liveliness).
Philips
The company was named after its founder, Friedrich Philips and his son Gerard, who founded it in 1891 in Eindhoven to produce light bulbs. Until now, they have not refused to bring light to the people, but they have replenished their assortment with a couple of hundred more items.
Puma
This company was owned by the brother of the founder of Adidas, Rudolf Dassler. After the historic scandal at Dassler, the brothers parted on opposite sides of the river and each founded their own enterprise. Initially, Puma was called Ruda, in honor, as you understand, of Rudolf himself, but the name had to be changed in favor of euphony and memorability, leaving the base - four letters, identical vowels, a similar first consonant.
Samsung
In Korean, "samsung" means "three stars".
Sanyo
Chinese for "Three Oceans".
Sharp
The origins of the etymology lie in the 10s of the last century, when the Tokyo resident Tokuji Hayakawa began the production of a branded product - an ever-sharp mechanical pencil that does not require sharpening. Sharp in English "sharp".
Siemens
Founded in 1847 by Werner von Siemens.
Sony
The original name of the company in Japanese sounded like "Tokyo tsushin koge kabushiki kaisa" and was translated into English language as Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company. The founders of the company, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuki, were looking for a suitable word for a short name for a long time and came across the Latin word sonus (sound). In the 1950s, the American word sonny was popular in Japan, consonant with the word sonus and the word sunny (sunny). What could be better? But the word sonny, written in hieroglyphs, meant "unprofitable." Then Akio Morita came up with the idea of \u200b\u200bcrossing out one letter "n" and called the company "Sony".
Subaru
The name of the constellation Pleiades, which in Greek was also called the Seven Sisters. And that's just the "Seven Sisters" in Japanese "Subaru". Literally, the brand-name is translated into Russian as "to unite into one whole." The Pleiades constellation is displayed on the company logo.
swatch
Short for Swiss Watch
Toshiba
It got its name as a result of the reduction in 1978 of the former name of Tokyo Shibaura Elektric Co., Ltd, received from the merger of Tokyo Denki, engaged in household electrical appliances, and Shibaura Seisaku-sho, which produced heavy electrical equipment.
Toyota
Named after the founder Sakichi Toyoda. Later changed to a more euphonious Toyota. In Japanese, it consisted of 8 letters (a lucky number in Eastern culture).
viagra
The first part of the word, "vi-", is taken from the words virility (potency), vitality ( life force), vigor (energy). And the ending "-agra" means "catch", "grab".
Xerox
It comes from the Greek "Xer", which, contrary to the guesses of especially witty comrades, is translated as "dry". The fact is that at the time of composing the name for the future copying giant (late 40s), there was only wet copying, and the author wanted to emphasize the use of dry dye powder in the technology. In English-speaking countries, the brand name sounds not “Xerox”, but “Zyrox”.
Yahoo
The word was coined by Jonathan Swift in his book Gulliver's Travels. That was the name of one nasty tribe that Gulliver had to face in his travels. Founders of Yahoo! Jerry Yang and David Filo chose this name because they called themselves yahoo. Besides, it's such an exclamation of joy.
3M
Mathematical notation of the three-fourths of an acronym for the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company).
What will happen if you translate the names of well-known companies into Russian: literally, creatively, with humor, or all together.
What forms do you see? It's just your imagination... 
English graphic designer Graham Smith created the original Brand Reversioning series, in which he replaced the corporate identity of one brand with the corporate identity of another, often competing with it. 
Facts about the origin of the names of famous world brands
Adobe- named after the Adobe Creek, which flowed behind the house of the founder of the company, John Warnock (John Warnock).
Adidas- in honor of one of the founders, Adi Dasler.
Apple- the favorite fruit of the founder of the company, Steve Jobs (Steve Jobs). After three months of trying in vain to find a name for the new business, he gave his partner an ultimatum: "I'll name the company Apple if you don't come up with a better one by 5 o'clock." Apples Macintosh is the name of a variety of apples sold in the United States.
Canon- in honor of Kwanon, the Buddhist god of mercy. Changed to Canon to avoid protests from religious organizations.
Casio- in honor of the founder of the company, Kashio Tadao.
Cisco San Francisco for short.
Compaq- from Comp and paq (small integrated part).
corel- in honor of the founder of the company, Michael Copeland (Dr. Michael Cowpland). Stands for COwpland REsearch Laboratory (Copeland Research Laboratory).
Daewoo- the founder of the company Kim Woo Chong (Kim Woo Chong) called the company modestly, "Big Universe", that's how it is translated from Korean.
Fuji- in honor of high mountain Japan, Fuji.
Google- the name comes from the word Googol, meaning one followed by 100 zeros. And Google was written on the check that the founders of this project (among which, by the way, the former Russian Sergey Brin) received from the first investor. After that, they called the search engine that way.
HP(Hewlett-Packard) - Founders Bill Hewlett (Bill Hewlett) and Dave Packard (Dave Packard) tossed a coin to decide whose name would be the first in the title. As you can imagine, Bill won.
Hitachi Dawn in Japanese.
Honda is the name of the founder of Soichiro Honda.
Honeywell The name of the founder is Mark Honeywell.
hot mail— Founder Jack Smith came up with the idea of accessing e-mail via the web from anywhere in the world. When Sabeer Bhatia showed up with a business plan for this service, he went through all the words ending in "mail" and eventually settled on hotmail, as the name contained the letters HTML (web page markup language).
Hyundai- in Korean "present" (time).
IBM— International Business Machines.
Intel Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name the company Moore Noyce, but by that time there was already a chain of hotels with that name. So they decided to stick with INTegrated Electronics.
Kawasaki- in honor of the founder of Shozo Kawasaki.
Kodak- K is the favorite letter of George Eastman, the founder of the company. He looked for words beginning and ending with this wonderful letter. Moreover, in all alphabets "K" is written the same way. In the end, Kodak was chosen, supposedly this is the sound the camera makes when shooting.
Konica- Formerly known as Konishiroku Kogaku.
LG are the first letters of two Korean brands Lucky and Goldstar.
lotus— Mitch Kapor, founder of the company, was a meditator. Hence the name (lotus position).
Microsoft— MICROcomputer SOFTWARE. Originally written as Micro-Soft. Then the dash was removed.
Mitsubishi- invented by the founder of the company Yataro Iwasaki (Yataro Iwasaki) in 1870. Means "Three Diamonds" in Japanese. The name is also displayed in the company logo.
Motorola Founder Paul Galvin came up with the name when his company was starting to manufacture car radios. Many audio component manufacturers at the time ended with "ola".
Mozilla Foundation is the successor to the Netscape Navigator browser. When Marc Andreesen, the founder of Netscape, created a browser to replace Mosaic, it was internally called Mozilla (Mosaic-Killer, Godzilla).
Nabisco- originally "The NAtional BISCuit COmpany", changed to Nabisco in 1971.
Nikon- originally Nippon Kogaku, means "Japanese optics".
nintendo- a composite of 3 Japanese characters "Nin-ten-do", which can be translated as "heaven blesses hard work."
Nissan- formerly known as Nichon Sangio, which means "Japanese industry".
Nokia- started as a woodworking factory, grew into a rubber products manufacturer in the Finnish city of Nokia.
Novell The name was coined by the wife of co-founder George Canova. She mistakenly thought "Novell" was French for "new".
Oracle Company founders Larry Ellison and Bob Oats were working on a CIA consulting project codenamed Oracle. Later the project was closed, but the name remained.
Sanyo"Three Oceans" in Chinese.
SAP- "Systems, Applications, Productss in Data Processing", founded by 4 former IBM employees who worked in the Systems / Applications / Projects group.
SCO— from Santa Cruz Operation.
Siemens- Founded in 1847 by Werner von Siemens.
Sony- from the Latin "Sonus" (sound) and "sonny" (youngster in slang).
Subaru- by the name of the constellation. It is also displayed on the company logo.
SUN- founded by 4 university friends, short for Stanford University Network.
Suzuki named after founder Michio Suzuki.
Toshiba was founded after the merger between Tokyo Denki (Tokyo Electric Co) and Shibaura Seisaku-sho (Shibaura Engineering Works), a consumer goods company.
Toyota- named after the founder Sakichi Toyoda. Later changed to a more favorable Toyota. In Japanese, it consisted of 8 letters (lucky number in Japan).
Xerox- Inventor Chestor Carlson, wanted to reflect the word "dry" in the name (since at that time only wet copying existed). "Xer" is Greek for dry.
Yahoo- the word was coined by Jonathan Swift in his book Gulliver's Travels. That was the name of a repulsive, disgusting person. Founders of Yahoo! Jerry Yang and David Filo chose this name because they called themselves yahoo's. However, now the name stands for Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.
3M— Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
The Industrial Revolution gave impetus to the development of scientific and technological progress. The transition from a traditional society to an industrial one was accompanied by the improvement of technologies, the appearance of new goods on the world market, and an increase in the range of existing ones. Then there was a need to delimit the products of one segment. The information society dictated its own laws, the keen eye of the consumer was looking for something new, unique, special. Manufacturers whose products met the expectations of the masses received worldwide recognition, falling in love with more than one generation. However, few people know that the stories of famous brands are, first of all, the stories of ordinary people. who did not strive for fame at all, rather, on the contrary, they suffered from crisis and poverty.
Hugo Boss: clothes for soldiers of the Third Reich
Today, Hugo Boss produces luxury clothing under the separate Hugo and Boss brands, perfumes, as well as sunglasses and watches. V Lately Hugo Boss has partnered with Samsung to launch a mobile phone.
It all started back in 1923, when the tailor Hugo Ferdinand Boss founded a textile manufacturing company in the small German town of Metzingen. The family business was run by several people close to Boss. Soon a small shop opened. The tailor's clients were mostly police officers and workers. But things go badly, and in 1930 Hugo Boss announces the closure of the business.
However, the enterprising tailor did not have to sit idle. Joining the lava of the National Socialist Party of Germany in 1931, he again opens his own business, this time on a larger scale - a clothing factory. Gradually, the enterprise grows, so the owner is forced to use prisoners of war from different European countries: France, Poland, Austria, etc. as labor force. It was a period of success and recognition, Boss's clients were Wehrmacht officers, high-ranking officials of Nazi Germany, and even close associates of Hitler.
After the end of World War II, the tailor is accused of collaborating with the Nazis, fined and deprived of the opportunity to vote. Apparently never recovering from the blow, Hugo Boss dies in 1948.
After that, the factory passes into the hands of his son-in-law, Eugen Holy. Clothes for handymen and postmen are produced again. In 1953, the company produced the first men's suit. It was this event that marked the new future of Hugo Boss as a luxury clothing brand.
In 1967, the grandsons of the founder, Jochen and Uwe Holly, became the leaders of the company. For the first time they are promoting the brand, which makes it famous and recognized all over the world.
In the 70s of the twentieth century, the company turns into a fashion house, which brings together famous fashion designers and designers.
The release of a perfume line, a collection of clothes for children, a demonstration of a mobile phone under its own brand - this is how we know the Hugo Boss brand today: luxurious, sophisticated and unique.
Tefal and Teflon: they found each other
The history of the Tefal trademark, one of the most famous brands in the world, begins in 1954 and is associated with the great discovery of the French engineer and fisherman Marc Gregoire. While thinking about how to fix the sticking problem of a sliding spinning rod, he found that polytetrafluoroethylene or Teflon could be applied to aluminum surfaces. The matter was put into practice, and the problem with the sliding system of the device for catching fish disappeared forever.
At first, Gregoire's discovery was used in areas far from the production of kitchen appliances, mainly in the design of aerospace technology.
The first Teflon-coated pan was made by the Grégoire family. The couple realized that aluminum, to which nothing sticks, is a salvation for hundreds of thousands of women. After a successful test of the miracle pan by the wife of the discoverer, a long period of obtaining a patent began.
Tefal was founded in 1956. The newly minted manufacturer received an ingenious name, a combination of two words - TEFlon and Aluminum. Frying pans quickly won the trust of both housewives and experienced chefs. In 1958, more than a million pans were sold, a year later - about three.
In the 60s, the Tefal brand, recognized in Europe, began to conquer the overseas market. In America, they were delighted with the novelty, about a million pans were sold per month.
Business prospered, non-stick frying pan businesses were set up all over the world. Then Mark Gregoire decided to transfer the furrows of the board to experienced managers, and he himself took up his favorite thing - invention. And as always, he achieved excellent results. Soon, Tefal expanded its product range - the production of household appliances was added to the manufacture of various kitchen appliances.
Nike is a brand recognizable by a tick
The brand's legend began in 1964, when an American student, Phil Knight, faced the problem of choosing sports shoes. He was a runner, training required comfortable shoes. At that time, only Adidas branded sneakers were on sale, which only the world champion in running could afford, and ordinary sports shoes for $ 5, after wearing which the legs hurt.
Phil Knight studied at the economics department of Stanford University, the idea to create his own trademark came to his mind at one of the marketing seminars. Each student had their own project. As homework it was necessary to think over a business development strategy and a marketing plan. Thus, the first steps in the development of a global brand were taken.
Phil believed in his idea to the end. Therefore, when it came time to decide how to produce affordable and high-quality shoes, he was not at a loss, because he already had a plan. The student travels to Japan and signs a contract with a local company to supply sneakers across the ocean.
At first, Blue Ribbon Sports (it was called that) did not even have its own store. Phil traveled all over the country in a van selling shoes on the street.
One day he met a man named Jeff Johnson. Since then, everything has changed. An experienced athlete turned out to be an excellent marketer who launched a campaign to promote the brand.
In 1965, the founders of the company came up with a new name for it - Nike. Johnson allegedly dreamed of Nike, the winged goddess of victory.
Simple to the point of genius, the swoosh-shaped logo appeared in 1971. It was invented by University of Portland student Carolyn Davidson for just $30. Later, Phil Knight will correct himself and reward her with a statuette with diamonds and even give away part of the company's shares.
The famous checkmark has the name “Swoosh”, translated from English as “flying with a whistle”. She symbolizes the wing of the goddess who brings victory.
Indeed, Nike has defeated many of its competitors, but its main achievement is the trust of a huge number of people from different parts of the world.
Popular brands that have long been recognized around the world, as a rule, were created ordinary people. Often the stories of famous brands are an amazing series of coincidences that combine into an incredible string of events, giving birth to legends in front of generations.
If you are planning to launch your own product on the market, KOLORO specialists will help you create, come up with a fascinating story of its development.
Today, within the framework of our "World Brands" section, we decided to deviate a little from the tradition of publication topics and talk about a seemingly ordinary product - scissors, but their price is from 1000 euros. In the modern world, the origin of a thing often speaks of its quality. Remember, for example, a Swiss watch, a German car, Russian caviar. All these things are united not only by the high price, but also ...
Even children know that the world around them is made up of particles. We recently had the opportunity to look at such particles with the naked eye. Moreover, now you can even touch them. Let's talk about Lego. People spend about 5 billion hours a year collecting cubes. If this number is divided by all the inhabitants of the earth, it will be about an hour for each.
There are cars that are good on their own. Riding them is a pleasure. These cars include cars of the famous Bugatti brand. The French company "Bugatti" and its amazing products have left a noticeable mark in the history of the world's automotive industry. Therefore, today, as part of our permanent column "World Brands", we will introduce you to the history of the creation and development of the famous Bugatti brand.
Today in the section "World Brands" we decided to publish the biography of one of the most secretive, but at the same time popular women Russia. We are talking about the former wife of Vladimir Putin - Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Putina (nee Shkrebneva). In 1958, on January 2, Lyudmila Shkrebneva (Putina) was born in Kaliningrad. Lyudmila's father worked first as a postman, and then as a turner at a repair plant, and her mother worked in ...
There are many examples when young people, carried away by an idea, achieved a lot in their lives. Some of them did not have a rich inheritance, and someone escaped to the pinnacle of fame literally from poverty. There are many examples of this. One of the ups and downs was made by a poor teenager named Jason Daniels, carrying through the years the famous taste and recipe of Jack Daniels whiskey. Mr. Daniels was very devoted to his beloved...
Today, under the heading "World Brands", Andrey Shipilov has prepared for you a publication about the largest fast food chain in the world. The future owner of thousands of restaurants around the world, Fred de Luca was born into a family of emigrants from Italy in 1948. From an early age, the boy tried to earn money on his own, and his parents saw that a big man would grow out of their child. Beginning with...
In Germany (in Wiesbaden) in October 96 of the last century, on the pages of a bureau report called the Executive Intelligence Review, shocking information was printed about the well-known speculator of the planet - George Soros. Soros was accused of global scams and speculation that affected the lives of the ordinary population of entire countries. Until now, a number of experts believe that he ruined the main bank of England, whose leadership in response ...
Bernard Arnault is the owner of LVMH, a successful French businessman. Born on 03/05/1949 in a wealthy family. Already in his youth, Bernard Arnault began to be interested in luxurious things, he studied fashion trends, art and understood good wines. Bernard Arnault is known in the world as the number one figure in the production of luxury goods and wealth. Arno controls at least sixty brands from around the world...
December 25 is the birthday of Conrad Hilton, the man who built the hospitality empire and took the hospitality industry to the next level. Hilton Corporation and 9 other legendary companies of our time - in a special ELLE review.
Microsoft
Microsoft founder Bill Gates demonstrated his talent as a programmer in high school by devising a class schedule that allowed him to be in the class with the maximum number of girls every time. Who would have thought then that ahead of the savvy teenager is the creation of a transnational corporation that will develop the most popular Windows operating system in the world. Gates decided to start his own business in 1975, and in less than forty years his offspring has gone from three employees and $16 thousand in the bank to the status of a business giant (almost 90 thousand people in the state) and the largest software manufacturer, mobile phones and computer technology. By the way, if you decide to try your luck and become part of the Microsoft team, keep in mind that the company takes great pleasure in accepting women into its ranks and even hosts summer camps for high school girls to spark their interest in the industry. But despite this, be prepared for an extraordinary selection procedure (for example, during testing, candidates have to answer questions like “why sewer manholes are round”), as well as for fierce competition - on average, one vacancy in the company accounts for 1 million 300 thousand resumes.
McDonald's
Brothers Mac and Dick MacDonald pioneered fast food by opening the first self-service restaurant in December 1948. It is likely that their business would have remained a California-scale project if not for a nimble cocktail mixer supplier named Ray Kroc, who, by the way, was on the verge of bankruptcy when he met the McDonalds. It was he who believed in the future of the company and launched the sale of franchises, and in 1961 he bought the business from the brothers for $2.7 million. The company was founded by him in 1955, and already in 1965 he managed more than 700 restaurants in the United States. The first foreign McDonald's opened in Canada in 1967, after which the hamburger corporation began its victorious march around the planet. In Russia, the opening of the first McDonald's took place on January 31, 1990 and caused an incredible stir: in spite of the cold, as many as 30,000 people lined up in line for overseas cheeseburgers. By the way, respecting the local traditions of different countries, the company adapts the menu and design of dishes: for example, there is no Big Mac in the menu of restaurants in India, but there is Maharaja Mac made from lamb meat. In total, McDonald's has more than 35,000 restaurants in the world, and despite scandals and litigation (it is worth remembering at least the story of the sensational documentary "Double Portion", as well as the recent court case won by Jamie Oliver), the company maintains its incredible popularity. : more than 70 million people become its customers every day.
Dell
Michael Dell was not brilliant at school, but at the age of 12 he showed an extraordinary entrepreneurial talent, earning $ 2,000 thanks to the distribution of a subscription to the magazine. A simple craft opened up for a young businessman the technique of direct sales: Dell recognized the names of newlyweds, sending them greeting cards with an offer for a two-week free subscription. Surprisingly, it was this direct sales technology that later became the trademark know-how of the Dell business empire - a developer, manufacturer and seller of computers, servers and software. The company (which Dell founded at the age of 19 with $1,000 in its pocket) for the first time in its industry refused to work with intermediaries and excluded warehouses from the business chain: computers are assembled here only by order from the client and delivered directly to the buyer, offering as bonus permanent service support, minimum prices and numerous gifts-bonuses. Dell was the first company in its industry to decide to sell computers over the Internet. With such bold innovation and exceptional focus on the customer, it's no wonder that the corporation topped Fortune magazine's list of "Companies to Admire" in 2005.
Inditex
If the name of the Spanish company Inditex does not mean much to you, believe me, you are very familiar with its brands: Zara, Oysho, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Pull and Bear, Stradivarius - and this is not the whole list. The history of the corporation began in the 70s, when the Spanish entrepreneur Amancio Ortega decided to open an inexpensive but fashionable clothing store and called it Zara. The business turned out to be successful, Ortega continued to open more and more new stores, which in 1985 formed the Inditex holding. Further - more: within the framework of the corporation, new brands were born, each with its own style and target audience, then textile, accessories, and footwear stores appeared. Thanks to the variety of brands and the ability to instantly respond to the dynamics of demand, Inditex has become a real business empire, demonstrating fantastic growth rates. The company currently owns over 5,000 outlets on all 5 continents and does not plan to stop there.
Disney
The most popular family entertainment empire, Disney Corporation has gone from a tiny studio in a garage to one of the world's strongest giants in nine decades. Animation was a clear vocation for Disney: he began to draw comics from the age of seven, took a course in cartooning and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. Starting in 1923 with cartoons about Alice in Wonderland, five years later he introduced the public to Mickey Mouse (who, by the way, he voiced himself), and seven years later he received an Oscar - the first of a record 29! In 1937, Disney gave the world Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the highest-grossing film of all time (surpassed only by Gone with the Wind), which ushered in a whole era of full-length cartoons. This was followed by the classics "Bambi", "Dumbo", "Beauty and the Beast", the company gained a whole army of fans. After numerous letters from viewers asking them to visit his studio, Disney decided to open a new business - an amusement park, which eventually became the key to the financial stability of the company and made Walt's heirs into billionaires: by 1960, the income from Disneyland exceeded the income from the film studio. Today, Walt Disney Productions, which is the second (after Time Warner) media holding, owns several film and recording studios, 535 branded stores, several newspapers and magazines, its own TV network, hockey and baseball teams, parks around the world, and an annual turnover is 21 billion dollars. I wonder what baggage the Disney empire will bring to the centenary?
LVMH
Guerlain, Givenchy, Hennesy, Bulgari, Marc Jacobs, Benefit, Don Peregnon and many, many more iconic luxury brands are all LVMH. The French concern, owned by the Bernard Arnault family and today the world's largest manufacturer of luxury goods, appeared in 1987 through the merger of two key market players - Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy. This deal marked the beginning of numerous acquisitions and mergers, the largest of which could have been the failed acquisition of Gucci in 1999. The luxury empire, with a turnover of more than 20 billion euros a year, includes companies producing clothing, watches, wine and spirits, leather goods, perfumes and cosmetics. Also included in the LMHV corporation are an auction house, financial publications, an art magazine, hotels, and a radio station. Declaring luxury as a passion, the company strives for perfectionism in everything and is actively working to find and develop talent. In addition to direct business development, LVHM pays attention to charity and responsible business conduct: the company supports a number of social projects and medical institutions, sponsors events in the arts, and is also involved in the preservation and restoration of cultural monuments.
Apple
It's even somewhat ridiculous to define Apple as a "manufacturer of personal computers." I want to talk about this business empire, which has created a real cult of its products, only in superlatives: created by the legendary Steve Jobs on April 1 (just kidding, they joked) 1976, Apple today is the most valuable company in the world. She earns $300,000 every minute, the amount in her company bank account sometimes exceeds the amount held in the US Treasury account, and in the first quarter of 2014 alone, Apple earned more than Google, Facebook, and Amazon combined. Setting record after record, in March 2014 the company sold its 500 millionth iPhone, and apparently, it is not going to stop there - the covenant of the founder Jobs "to remain insatiable" seems to have become the unspoken motto of the corporation.
L'oreal
Hilton
Having given up on his unfulfilled dream of becoming a banker, 31-year-old native of a grocer's family, Conrad Hilton decided to try his luck in the hotel business. His first hotel, the Dallas Hilton, opened in 1925, he was determined to make the best hotel in Texas - and eventually created a hospitality empire. Even the Great Depression, which hit America hard in the 1920s, did not stop Hilton: forced to cede his company to creditors, he bought it out five years later and resumed active work, and in 1954 he stunned all of America by making the largest deal and buying his own main competitor - Statler Hotels - for $111 million. By the end of the 60s, Hilton owned more than 40 hotels in the United States, plus the same number abroad. The success of Hilton's business empire was built on numerous innovations that are now considered an integral part of the hospitality industry. So, it was Hilton who came up with the “star” (by analogy with cognac) hotel rating system. He also suggested integrating hotels and casinos (which instantly increased the number of customers), opening hotels at the airport and putting quality of service at the forefront. In addition, Hilton liked to visit competitors' hotels, observing the atmosphere and behavior of customers. It was in the Hilton Corporation that a system for encouraging loyal customers was introduced, an information and reference system for booking rooms together with air and railway tickets, and even a Pinacolada cocktail was created at the Hilton Hotel. Today the corporation has 3800 hotels different levels in 88 countries. It is noteworthy, by the way, that after the death of Conrad Hilton, the empire he built became, in accordance with his will, the property of charitable foundation Hilton Foundation. However, one of the businessman's sons managed to challenge his father's dying will in court, and a few years later the business empire returned to the "bosom of the Hilton family".
virgin group
In 1967, the headmaster of Richard Branson's school said goodbye to his (far from being the best) student with these words: “Congratulations, Richard! You either go to jail or become a millionaire." The prediction came true: Branson became one of the most famous - and most outrageous - rich people of modern times, and his company - the greatest conglomerate of various business lines. It all started with an idea as bold as it was absurd: Branson, who suffered from dyslexia and, accordingly, had not read a single book, decided to ... publish a magazine! He went from a magazine to a record store, from stores to a record label, and away we go: the operator of flights to balloons, publishing, international air travel, bridal wear, online jewelry and cosmetics, vodka production, comic book production, condoms... It's hard to say what is more striking in this endless list - scale or dispersion. Even Branson himself is rumored to be unsure exactly how many companies belong to his fantastic multi-brand, which now has $24 billion in combined revenue. It is obvious that the secret of Virgin's success lies in courage bordering on insanity: it was not for nothing that Branson chose the name Virgin for his business as a designation for a "virgin" approach to business and the lack of any experience from any of the employees. A non-standard approach is manifested in Branson's company at all levels: there is absolutely no subordination here, informality and creativity are welcomed, and employees calmly drink beer during the working day. And Branson himself this moment preoccupied with the development, no more, no less, of space tourism, still loves adventure, outrageous antics and his immortal sweater, which he does not refuse even at meetings with royalty.