Where To Watch
7 brand name changes we never got over
We still call it Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Dunkin' Donuts will now officially be known as "Dunkin'." This rebranding comes hot on the heels of Weight Watchers changing its name to "WW."
The marketing decisions are meant to get us thinking about the companies in a new light. But really, they mostly dredge up memories of when other beloved brands dropped the "Fried," "Sugar" and "Pancakes" from their monikers.
Honestly, if you grew up with the original name, you likely still use the original name. We'll always call it "Quik" and that's not changing.
Let's take a look at some memorable brand-name changes. Do you still use the original name?
1. Kentucky Fried Chicken
The Colonel has always touted his chicken as being "finger lickin' good," but in 1991 the fast-food giant pivoted away from using the word "Fried." Henceforth, it would be known as KFC.
2. Datsun
The Japanese automaker made a splash in the States in 1968 with its 240Z. Millions of suburban kids lusted after the sporty coupe. In 1986, the brand was dropped in favor of its parent company, Nissan.
3. Nestle's Quik
Quik holds a special place in our hearts. Not just because of all the chocolate we drank as kids. Producers picked Adam West to play Batman because of his work in a Nestle's Quik commercial. In 2003, the global brand officially became Nesquik, as it had been called in Europe. This forced the Quik Rabbit to change the "Q" around his neck to an "N."
4. WWF
Hulk Hogan. Rowdy Roddy Piper. Junkyard Dog. The three letters "WWF" bring to mind muscular supermen of the 1980s. The pro wrestlers had their own cartoons, toys and ice cream bars. In 1999, that changed forever when the entertainment company rebranded as WWE.
5. Sugar Smacks
Of course, they tasted better with Spock on the box. The fear of overly sugary cereals forced Kellogg's to change the name to Honey Smacks in the 1980s. A decade later, this was shortened again to just plain Smacks.
6. International House of Pancakes
In 1973, the lengthy International House of Pancakes was understandably boiled down to the catchy, poppy "IHOP." But "International House of Pancakes" sounded so sophisticated. You felt like James Bond eating a stack of silver dollars.
7. Willy Wonka
The most recent change on this list still stings. In 2017, the Wonka candy brand which gave us delights such as Nerds, Runts and Skrunch officially became known as "Nestle Candy Shop." This prompted fans to start a petition to change the name back — and caused outrage in general.
36 Comments
.jpg)
Allegheny Airlines - US Air/US Airways
American - Amoco
Pizza Time Theatre - Chuck E. Cheese's
Children's Supermart/Children's Bargain Town USA - Toys R Us
Carson Piere Scott - Carson's
Bank Americard - Visa
I think the only brand name change I got used to was WHTQ from Q96 in spite of the fact that I initially had a real problem with the change.
In 1998? WWF (wrestling) lost a lawsuit brought by WWF/World Wildlife Fund because of the similarity of the abbreviation and the name. It alleged that monetary damage was done to WWF (wildlife) because of the similarity.
YET, there IS an Auto Shack web site today. https://www.autoshack.com/
Also an AutoZone web site. https://www.autozone.com/
On April 7, 2011, WWE, via the WWE Corporate website, announced that the company was ceasing use of the full name World Wrestling Entertainment and would henceforth refer to itself solely as WWE, making the latter an orphan initialism. This was said to reflect WWE's global entertainment expansion away from the ring with the ultimate goal of acquiring entertainment companies and putting a focus on television, live events, and film production. - Wikipedia
We get the point.
