LEAVING TRADITION BEHIND: Brand-named babies

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060612/BUSINESS07/606120325

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In recent years, an increasing number of Americans have been breaking away from tradition and naming their children -- and even renaming themselves -- after companies and products. In 2005, for example, more than 500 boys and girls were named Armani after the fashion-and-beauty brand Giorgio Armani, the U.S. Social Security Administration says. More than 260 girls took on the Chanel moniker, and 305 infants were named Alizé, after the cognac-based spirit.
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The trend is becoming so prevalent that a few advertisers, desperate to reach consumers who've grown weary of traditional marketing, are even paying parents to hang their product name on their newborns.
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In March, for instance, a 6-pound newborn was named ChamberMaster Mead after the ChamberMaster software company paid his dad $375 for the boy to carry the company's name for two weeks. Then, he was renamed Horizon after the Horizon Industries consulting firm bought the infant's naming rights for the following two weeks for the same price. Finally, he got his permanent moniker: John Douglass Mead.

Chris Mead, vice president of member relations at the American Chamber of Commerce Executives in Alexandria, Va., said he auctioned his son's name to drum up excitement for the group's annual convention.

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***Can you say ick? I put 20 bucks on this kid having serious issues with his Dad as a teenager. :wtf:

Nothing is sacred...nothing is special to some people anymore. I knew I should have named my daughter "BoonesFarm"


ON EDIT: www.freep.com is the web address for the Detroit Free Press. :hi:

What a sick development.

Still, this is a time where I won't stifle a derogatory laugh when I hear "Noxema Olay Stove Top, you come here this instant!"

It said so in the OP. x(

It's nutty...not cool...just nutty. When I saw the girl list and Ikea was on there I just shook my head.

deserves all the rebellion and hostility they're going to get when that kid is a teen.

:o

Can you imagine being in a kindergarten class for roll call these days?

Dodge?

Here

Chevy?

Here

Anyone know if Ford is out sick today? Anyone?? :shrug:

We ran into the friend's classmate Alize -- a boy.

Oh, and I know of someone who named her kid Boone, after the drink.



WHY WOULD YOU NAME YOUR KID CARESS? (See the sidebar in that article.) Ick.

Caprice (42) and she used to get ribbed all the time.

when they uh...um...you know. Still a ridiculous idea, couldn't even name their kid after good booze...geeze!

(Like the soap) which drove her crazy, because her name was Camille and the rest of the family called her "Cammie."

once again reality surpasses satire

If I had a child, maybe I should have named him/her "Big Bambu", and get the Cheech & Chong sponsorship

Although "Boonesfarm" has a ring to it. :hi:

then mine should have been WildTurkey or GoldenGrain.

we worship different gods these days

I did, partially. :hi:

All three of my children are named after Catholic saints, and I'm not even a practicing Catholic anymore :)

:shrug:

the tentacles of commercialism are extending into everyday life, just as the catholic church did during the middle ages

:puke:

It's goofy enough to name kids after luxury stuff, but it kind of makes sense in the context of the American social climbing tradition- it's still tacky as hell, but at least the motivation makes a little sense- but I can't figure out why anybody would name thier kid after plastic wrap. :wtf:

Yikes. It is possible to give your child an uncommon name without it being total insane.

Allow advertisers to name years. In the novel, events take place in the Year of the Depends Adult Undergarment, and the Year of the Tucks Medicated Pad. That shit doesn't stop being funny.

That's why I'm gonna name my children after bands I like. I'll introduce you to 2 sons, Creedence Clearwater RedStateShame and Guided by RedStateShame, and my gorgeous daughter, Dismemberment Plan RedStateShame.

to tell those other, nosier DUers....

...I named my daughter Nicole, specifically so I could call her Nikki...because I had a "thing" for Nikki Six... Me=young, stupid.

She goes by Nik now. :blush:

At least that's the coolest Motley Crue member. So, when is she old enough to hear the story about his heart stopping while doing heroin, or the time he tried to inject bourbon?

kind of a bonding point for her to think that her mother might have been cool at one point. :)

And, yes, the products were around then. Her situation was doubly difficult because she developed early.

She was a strong person. I guess she had to be.

Because this certainly is! No way in hell, for any amount of money, would I name my kid or myself after a brand name or a product. I am not a billboard.

In the immortal words of Bill Hicks - "By the way, if anyone is in marketing or advertising, kill yourself."