Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S9E08 - The Name Game: Brand Names In Different Countries

Episode Date: February 20, 2020

This week, we explore why companies change valuable brand names when expanding to other countries. Sometimes the reason is a language issue. But other times, the reasons are far more interesting. For example, Mr. Clean is called Meister Proper in Germany and Maestro Lindo in Italy. And the reason it’s hard to find a Burger King in Australia is the most curious story of all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly. As you may know, we've been producing a lot of bonus episodes while under the influences on hiatus. They're called the Beatleology Interviews, where I talk to people who knew the Beatles, work with them, love them, and the authors who write about them. Well, the Beatleology Interviews have become a hit, so we are spinning it out to be a standalone podcast series. You've already heard conversations with people like actors Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, and Beatles confidant Astrid Kershaw. But coming up, I talk to May Pang, who dated John Lennon in the mid-70s. I talk to double fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, Apple Records creative director John Kosh. I'll be talking to Jan Hayworth,

who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Very cool. And I'll talk to singer Dion, who is one of only five people still alive who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover. And two of those people were Beatles. The stories they tell are amazing. So thank you for making this series such a success. And please, do me a favor, follow the Beatleology interviews on your podcast app. You don't even have to be a huge Beatles fan, you just have to love storytelling.

Subscribe now, and don't miss a single beat. This is an apostrophe podcast production. Your teeth look whiter than noon, noon, noon You're not you when you're hungry You're in good hands with Austin You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. There are many reasons why top actors decide to act in certain films. Sometimes they just love the script. Sometimes they choose it for the money.

And sometimes actors choose projects because they want to work with acclaimed directors. Directors who have that rare ability to pull Oscar-winning performances out of actors. That list of Hollywood directors is short. But most actors would say yes to them immediately, almost regardless of the script. Directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and the Coen brothers.

Joel and Ethan Coen have written and produced such acclaimed movies as Blood Simple, The Big Lebowski, and Oscar winners Fargo and No Country for Old Men. Their scripts are complicated and textured, their shooting style is unique, their sense of humor is deliciously dark, and their ability to twist established genres is widely admired. So just as actor Bill Murray was coming off his Oscar-nominated performance

in Lost in Translation, directed by Sofia Coppola, he jumped at the chance to act in a script written by Joel Cohen. Murray only read a few pages of the script, but he always wanted to work with the Coen brothers and signed on right away. It was an animated film, and the lead role was to voice the character of Garfield the Cat. He said he loved the Coens' sense of humor and was intrigued to see how they would bring their trademark style

to the Garfield character. But when Bill Murray went to L.A. to record his lines, they weren't funny. At all. Page after page, Murray would look at his script and say, that's the line? Then he would try to make it funnier. He felt the script was getting worse and worse. He was soaked with sweat

he was working so hard. It got so bad, Murray stopped the recording and asked to see the rest of the animation so he could figure out where the storyline was headed. So he sat down and watched the whole thing. And through it all, he kept thinking, what the hell is Joel Cohen thinking? That's when it was explained to Murray that it wasn't THE Joel Cohen who had written the screenplay. It was another Joel Cohen. Instead of Joel C-O-E-N,

it was Joel C-O-H-E-N. Bill Murray had gotten the names wrong. O-E-N. It was Joel C-O-H-E-N. Bill Murray had gotten the names wrong. So here was Bill Murray in a mainstream Garfield cartoon movie, too funny,

that he thought was being produced by the darkly funny Coen brothers. But you have to hand it to Murray. He agreed to stay on and did the best he could

with old Garfield. The movie was eventually panned, but it did make money at the box office. Bill Murray had learned that age-old lesson. What a difference a name makes. What a difference a brand name makes in the world of marketing, too. Brand names are worth millions of dollars, and in many cases, billions of dollars. They are guarded jealously by companies, and in a world of multinational corporations, brand names have to travel.

But sometimes those brand names have to be altered in various countries. Sometimes the names are changed due to language, and other times they are changed for far more interesting reasons. You're under the influence. Brand names are extremely valuable. For example, you'll notice that airplanes only stock leading brand name beverages. They do that because they know no one will object to those choices.

Back when Russians were clamoring for Western products on the black market, they weren't after jeans, soft drinks, and rock music. They wanted Levi's, Coca-Cola, and the Beatles. During World War II, when the army put green giant corn in plain army food packets, soldiers didn't like it, complained, and it was left uneaten on their plates. But when the army put the very same corn in green giant packages with the green giant logo, soldiers loved it. That is the power of a brand name.

So, it's always interesting to travel to a different country and discover those valuable brand names have been changed. Back in 1932, a salesman named Herman Lay started a small snack food company in Nashville, Tennessee. He sold potato chips out of the trunk of his car, chips made by a company in Atlanta, Georgia. Six years later, he bought that Atlanta business and formed H.W. Lay & Company. Soon, that name was simplified to Lay's Potato Chips.

Herman Lay was a smart marketer, and he expanded the company's reach across the nation. As a matter of fact, Lay's Potato Chips was the very first snack food ever advertised on television. The campaign began in the early 60s and featured actor Burt Lahr, who played the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz. What do you got there? Lay's Potato Chips, but you can't eat one. Don't be redundant.

Certainly I can. Mmm. Kel, pleasure. I'll have another. Uh-uh. I said one. So you did. I heard you, I heard you.

Lay's potato chips also created a slogan that would stand for decades. You can eat a million of them, but nobody can eat just one. Lay's eventually merged with friendly competitor Frito in 1961 to become Frito-Lay, which is now owned by PepsiCo. Today, Lay's Potato Chips is far and away the dominant brand name in the potato chip category. It commands a 30% market share in Canada and the US. The second

place brand is a distant second with less than 10%. Pepsi has helped expand Lay's footprint to over 100 countries. Clearly, the Lay's potato chip brand name is powerful and valuable and widely known. Yet, if you were to travel to the UK, you wouldn't be able to find a bag of Lay's potato chips because they are called Walker's potato chips over there. The reason? When Lay's expanded to Britain, it purchased Walker's chips, which had a 30% market share.

It was determined there was too much equity in the Walker's name to walk away from it. The same decision was made in other countries. If you were to travel to Egypt, you would discover Lay's chips are called Chipsies. In Australia, Lay's chips are called Smith's chips. In Argentina, they are called Frenchitas. And in Mexico, Sabritas. Here in Canada, the leading brand of potato chips for decades was Hostess. It was the number one brand name since Edward Snyder began cooking chips on his mother's stove just outside Kitchener, Ontario, in 1935. In the early 90s, Hostess was losing market share due to aggressive competitors.

So, in 1992 PepsiCo acquired full ownership of hostess four years later Frito-Lay rebranded host these are Lay's. Bet you can't eat just one. And if I lose, I get an hour of your time. New Lay's chips now taste lighter, crispier, and fresher. Lay's. A major brand name in potato chips. Not valid in the UK, Egypt, Australia, Mexico, and Argentina.

Reasonable facsimile accepted. You look older than your husband. I thought I did. Till a friend shared her secret. Oil of Olay beauty lotion. Skin drinks in Oil of Olay. Soothes away dryness that accents wrinkles. Then those little lines are less noticeable. Oil of Olay has been around a long time. As a matter of fact, it was developed by a chemist during World War II to help military burn victims. It was a moisturizer that prevented their skin from becoming dehydrated. When the war ended, the chemist wondered if his product might have a second life as a beauty cream.

So he teamed up with an ad man and together they created a name for the product. They called it Oil of Ulay and they they began selling it door-to-door in South Africa. Customers were very intrigued by the Ule name, and the partners realized their invented brand name had become a selling point. As the brand became more and more successful, it was exported around the world. And while crossing borders, the partners made slight tweaks to the brand name to make it sound exotic

in each language. When oil of Ulay was sold in Europe, it became oil of Olas. In Australia, it was known as oil of Ulan. When it reached the shores of North America, it was rechristened oil of Olay. America, it was rechristened Oil of Olay.

Today, it is a billion-dollar brand owned by Procter & Gamble. Interestingly, P&G decided to simplify the brand name in the year 2000. In Germanic-speaking countries, it became Olas, and in all other countries, it simply became Olay. While streamlining made marketing the brand more efficient, there was also another reason for the change. P&G discovered that younger buyers had an aversion to the word oil and didn't want to buy oil-related products. The brand promise of Olay has always been to turn back the hands of time and keep your skin looking younger than your age. I remember a brilliant print ad for the brand I saw many

years ago. It simply said, Talk Tick. Hail, Hail Craft Dinner, or KD as it is affectionately called in Canada. In 1916, Ontario-born J.L. Craft himself patented the cheese powder that is one of the key ingredients in craft dinner. As we've mentioned in the past, it was a salesman in St. Louis who actually thought up the idea for boxed macaroni and cheese. He wrapped packets of grated Kraft cheese around boxes of macaroni with rubber bands. Then he sold it as a complete meal package. Kraft Dinner was first sold in the late 1930s during the Depression. During World War II, over 50 million boxes of Kraft Dinner

were sold because hungry families could feed a family of four for just 19 cents. And they could get two boxes for just one food stamp. The iconic blue box was designed in 1954. When more and more mothers

entered the workforce in the late 60 more and more mothers entered the workforce in the late 60s and 70s, Kraft Dinner became a quick meal solution for busy families. It became so popular in Canada that Canadians nicknamed it KD. And Kraft Dinner even uses

that abbreviation on its packages and in its marketing. Grab life. Own the night. Unless you're perfectly fine not owning it at all. Reach for the stars. And by stars we mean KD. She's the moment.

Now, if you were to walk into a grocery store in the United States and ask which aisle the KD was in, chances are they wouldn't know what you're talking about. Because south of the border, KD is not called KD, nor is it even called Kraft Dinner. It is called Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. You might be amused to know Canadians eat 55% more KD a year than Americans do.

Of the 7 million boxes sold globally each week, Canadians buy 1.7 million of them. Yep, we love our KD. By the way, if you're going to pair your KD with wine, they say Burgundy is a good choice. Hmm. That's what I have. Clearly.

And that's not the only brand name that trips on our border. And we'll be right back. If you're enjoying this episode, why not dip into our archives? Available wherever you download your pods. Go to terryoreilly.ca for a master episode list. When you eat your Smarties, do you eat the Red Wings last? Do you suck them very slowly or punch them very fast? Eat that candy-coated chocolate, but tell me when I ask.

When you eat your Smarties, do you eat the Red Wings last? When you eat your Smarties, do you eat the Red Wings last? That amazing jingle, created by my friend Gary Gray, was launched in 1969. Gary chose Stratford actor Jack Craley to sing the jingle. He wanted Craley because he was the only person Gary knew who could sing at that speed with perfect diction. The Smarties jingle resulted in a 10% sales increase every single year, and it became one of the longest-running campaigns in North America. Now, here's where it gets confusing. Are you familiar with a rolled candy called Rockets? Fifteen tiny round candies rolled up in a cellophane wrapper.

It's a Halloween favorite. The original Rockets candy was created in Britain. After the First World War, a family in England purchased gunpowder pellet machines that were once used to make bullets and repurposed them to make Rockets candies.

But here's the tricky part. They are called Rockets in Canada, but they are called Smarties in the States. Because Smarties already existed in Canada and was a leading brand name, American Smarties had to become Rockets when they moved across the border into Canada. So, if you ask for Smarties in the U.S.,

you will not be handed a box of multicolored chocolate candies. And, if you sing about eating the red ones last, very few Americans will know what the heck you're singing about. And, Americans asking for Smarties while vacationing in Canada will not be handed rockets. Clear as mud. You're welcome. Rice Krispies have been around since 1927.

As a brand, it's closing in on its 100th birthday. The famous Snap, Crackle & Pop slogan was first used way back in 1939. That slogan was developed for a very strategic reason. Kellogg's wanted the public to know that Rice Krispies wouldn't get soggy when milk was added to the bowl. So, snap, crackle, and pop were meant to signify the sounds of a crisp cereal. Kellogg's then created animated characters to personify the sounds. Snap was, in fact, the first character created in 1933, and he went solo for the next six years,

until Crackle and Pop were added in 1939. They first appeared on radio, then in short films in theaters in the 1940s. I'm Snap. I'm Crackle. I'm Pop. After service, Bobby. 1940s. Here's one of the very first television commercials featuring Snap, Crackle and Pop from 1953. Snap, Crackle, and Pop are the longest-running cartoon characters in Kellogg's history.

But what you may not know is that Snap, Crackle and Pop sound different in different countries. In Germany, it's Nisper, Nasper and Nusper. In Mexico, it's Pim, Pam, Pum. In Finland, it's Rix, Rax, Pox. In Quebec, it's Crick, Crack, Croc. In the Netherlands, it's Piff, Paff, Poff. In Sweden, it's Piff,crack-croc. In the Netherlands, it's piff-paff-poff. In Sweden, it's piff-paff-puff.

And in Italy, it's piff-poff-paff. Whew! Interesting that even sounds sound different when you cross borders. If you grew up in the 60s or 70s and you were anywhere near a television set, this jingle is tattooed on your brain.

Mr. Clean gets rid of dirt and grime and grease in just a minute. Mr. Clean will clean your whole house and everything that's in it. Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean. In 1957, Procter & Gamble hired Chicago advertising agency Tatum Laird to come up with a brand image for a new product called Mr. Clean. The new household cleaner worked like magic, so that led to an idea. They would create a brand mascot called Mr. Clean, who would be a genie who magically pops out of the bottle.

So artist Richard Black drew a bald, muscular man with a golden earring. As a matter of fact, the original drawing had Mr. Clean sporting a nose ring, like a genie. But that idea was squashed as too radical. And instead of a turban and flowing robes, Black put him into a tight-fitting white t-shirt and pants. I bet most people thought Mr. Clean was just a strong man, or a sailor. black put him into a tight-fitting white T-shirt and pants. I bet most people thought Mr. Clean was just a strongman or a sailor. But he's not.

He's a magical genie. The first TV commercial hit the air in 1958 with that catchy jingle, and within six months, it became the number one household cleaner. Pretty remarkable. And to this day, it generates half a billion dollars a year for P&G. The Mr. Clean packaging and Mr. Clean character have barely changed over six decades. Very rare in the world of marketing. It's a powerful international image.

So, it's surprising to discover that if you traveled to Britain, you wouldn't find him on the shelves. In the UK, Mr. Clean is called Flash. Not Mr. Flash, just Flash. When P&G expanded to the UK, it discovered there was already a brand there called Mr. Clean. So, they decided to call the product Flash and ditched the bald guy. Flash! Ultra!

Cleans up the impossible! It's the only place in the world where the Mr. Clean mascot is not used. But aside from the UK, P&G retains the genie but chooses to adapt the word clean country to country so it works in the local language.

That means in Mexico, Mr. Clean is called Maestro Limpio. In Spain, he's called Don Limpio. In Italy, he is Maestro Lindo. In Eastern Europe, he is called Mr. Proper. Whereas in Germany, he's known as Meister Proper. And in France, they sing a different tune. Mr. Clean is one of Madison Avenue's most enduring characters. And he looks pretty good for a globetrotting 62-year-old.

New year, new me. Season is here and honestly, we're already over it. Enter Felix, the healthcare company helping Canadians take a different approach to weight loss this year. Weight loss is more than just diet and exercise. It can be about tackling genetics, hormones, metabolism. Felix gets it. They connect you with licensed healthcare practitioners online who'll

create a personalized treatment plan that pairs your healthy lifestyle with a little help and a little extra support. Start your visit today at felix.ca. That's F-E-L-I-X dot C-A. Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era, dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program, they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals. No pressure to be who you're not, just workouts and classes to strengthen who you are. So no matter your era, make it your best with Peloton. Find your push, find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. Burger King is just a few years older than Mr. Clean. Founded in 1954, it was originally called Insta-Burger King

and grew quickly through franchising. Simplifying the name to Burger King, the fast food restaurant created its flagship burger, The Whopper, in 1957. Today, Burger King has 17,700 locations around the world. You can walk into a Burger King anywhere and be assured of getting the Whopper, as you know it, the way you want it.

Tired of having it their way? Have it your way at Burger King. Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us. All we ask is that you let us serve it your way. Except you won't find Burger King in Australia because it's the only place in the world where Burger Kings are called Hungry Jack's. Not unlike Mr. Clean in the UK, when Burger King got to Australia in 1971,

it discovered there was already a local restaurant there called Burger King. So the local Burger King franchisee, who was Canadian, by the way, chose to go with the name Hungry Jack's instead. And, when you walked into a Hungry Jack's restaurant, it was virtually identical to Burger King locations in every way, except name. Over the years, Hungry Jack's tried to purchase the trademark from the local Burger King, but failed. As Hungry Jack's became the largest Burger King franchisee outside of the U.S., even though it didn't do business under the Burger King name, the relationship between Hungry Jack's and the Burger King Corporation became strained.

Then, in the mid-90s, the Burger King trademark in Australia expired. Burger King's international head office immediately opened up dozens of locations in Australia. Hungry Jack's, a.k.a. Burger King, suddenly found itself competing with Burger King. Then, Burger King tried to terminate its deal with Hungry Jack's. As a result, the two brands had a contentious relationship for more than a decade. It all ended up in court in 2001, where Hungry Jack's finally won the Burger King rights to all of Australia. But after all those years and all those attempts to acquire the name,

the fast food company made a surprising decision. Hungry Jack's decided to keep the Hungry Jack's name, even though it finally had the right to name the entire Australian chain Burger King. While Hungry Jack's had been trying for 40 years to get the Burger King name, it was building brand value in the Hungry Jack's name. The name was local, it was firmly established, and it was building brand value in the Hungry Jack's name. The name was local, it was firmly established, and it was purely Australian. To switch after all this time would have been bad business. The irony of a long, long fight. Writer Jeremy Miller makes an astute observation in his book, Brand New Name.

He says, names are becoming a diminishing resource. There are millions of businesses in Canada and the U.S. with multiple product lines and brand names. When you add that to the explosion of the Internet, coming up with a name isn't the hard part. Finding an available one is the trick. So it's fascinating to see when valuable brand names choose to change as they cross borders. When it came to exporting Mr. Clean, it made marketing sense to adapt the word clean

in each local language. P&G eliminated the inconsistency of its Oil of Olay brand by simplifying it to Olay and sidestepped a millennial aversion to the word oil along the way. Lay's Potato Chips made a big decision when it acquired Walker's Chips in the UK by deciding to stick with the home team and not throw away 40 years of Walker's branding. Then there is the odd case of Burger King. The Hungry Jacks franchisee fights for 40 years to secure the Burger King brand name, finally gets it, then realizes the fight has taken too long. The Hungry Jacks brand name is now worth more down under.

That's the curious power of international brand names. Sometimes they compound with interest, and sometimes they just get lost in translation. Just ask Bill Murray when you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly This episode was recorded in the Terrastream Mobile Recording Studio Producer Debbie O'Reilly Sound Engineer Keith Ullman Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre Research Beverly Mason If you liked this episode Sound engineer, Keith Oman. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre.

Research, Beverly Mason. If you liked this episode, you might also enjoy Zombie Brands, Season 5, Episode 3. You'll find it in our archives wherever you download your podcasts. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at Terry O. Influence. See you next week. Olay is not available in Europe. Olay is not available in Australia. Olan is not available in Germany. Olas is not available in Canada. See you next week.