things that changed their name and you've no idea why....

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Now I can understand, to give two e.g.s from the world of transport:

PSV (Public Service Vehicle) becoming PCV (Public Commercial Vehicle) as municipal authorities and nationalised industries running buses give way to private companies

and OMO (one man operated) becoming OPO (one person operated) as we recognise that some bus drivers are women

but really, there are lots of things that have changed their names and I've no idea why. Give yr own e.g.s (and explanations)

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:45 (seventeen years ago) link

why, for example did VDs become STDs and latterly STIs?

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:46 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm guessing Vd --> STD was simply coz no-one knew what 'venereal' meant. But the best reason I can think of for the latter change is that it was stop ppl making jokes about 'sexually transmitted disease' codes...

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:47 (seventeen years ago) link

EEC --> EC --> EU

― temporary enrique (temporary enrique), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:48 (seventeen years ago) link

In Canada, Unemployment Insurance became Employment Insurance.

― Dr. Superman (Huk-L), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:48 (seventeen years ago) link

war --> conflict

― temporary enrique (temporary enrique), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:49 (seventeen years ago) link

Marathon > Snickers

Oil of Ulay > Oil of Olay (most pointless rebranding ever?)

― onimo (nu_onimo), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:49 (seventeen years ago) link

those were to make the product have the same name worldwide iirc.

Snickers always Snickers in US; it was named after Mr Mrs's favourite horse.

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:50 (seventeen years ago) link

Mrs's Mars's sp

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:51 (seventeen years ago) link

[Fry is trying out the Professors' new invention, the Smelloscope.]

Farnsworth: ... And now Saturn.

[Fry sniffs.]

Fry: Pine needles. Oh, man, this is great! Hey, as long as you don't make me smell Uranus.

[He laughs.]

Leela: I don't get it.

Farnsworth: I'm sorry, Fry, but astronomers renamed Uranus in 2620 to end that stupid joke once and for all.

Fry: Oh. What's it called now?

Farnsworth: Urectum.

― tissp! (tissp!), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:52 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh, and Jif -> Cif

― tissp! (tissp!), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:52 (seventeen years ago) link

Though I was told that this was because it was rude or something

― tissp! (tissp!), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:53 (seventeen years ago) link

speshly as cif sounds like syph which is short for syphilis.

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:53 (seventeen years ago) link

Twix was something else but I can't remember. Just remember that I found the original name better. hah Raiders? Yeah, I think that was it.

― nathalie (stevienixed), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:54 (seventeen years ago) link

fuck i remember them being raiders in foreignland. like 20 years ago. they were alway twix (i think!) in the uk.

― temporary enrique (temporary enrique), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:55 (seventeen years ago) link

twix is the best name for anything anywhere ever

― jhoshea (jhoshea), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:57 (seventeen years ago) link

urgh, no, because it reminds me of that stupid ad.

― nathalie (stevienixed), Monday, 19 February 2007 14:59 (seventeen years ago) link

I think there was an Oil of Olan along the way, too.

Are Opal Fruits the same as Starburst?

― C J (C J), Monday, 19 February 2007 15:00 (seventeen years ago) link

yeah opal fruits == starburst

starburst is the worst name ever

― tissp! (tissp!), Monday, 19 February 2007 15:01 (seventeen years ago) link

yes CJ.

I assume Mr Dog became Cesar coz Mr Dog was sexualist, yes?

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 19 February 2007 15:01 (seventeen years ago) link

I think it was Oil of Ulaz in Germany.

Opal Fruits did turn into Starburst, yes.

xpost!

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Monday, 19 February 2007 15:01 (seventeen years ago) link

Did Peanut Treats disappear at the same time as Peanut M&Ms appeared?

― onimo (nu_onimo), Monday, 19 February 2007 15:04 (seventeen years ago) link

Istanbull. From Constantinople. I suppose it's nobody's business but the Turks'.

― in the case of masonic attack (kate), Monday, 19 February 2007 15:05 (seventeen years ago) link

other possible way of de-sexualising Mr Dog (possibly brainstormed in the petfood board room):

launch a parallel product for female canines called Ms Bitch

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 19 February 2007 15:06 (seventeen years ago) link

Istanbull. From Constantinople

...t'was Byzantium somewhere along the line, too.

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 19 February 2007 15:07 (seventeen years ago) link

but CIF is short for "corny indie fuc"!

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Monday, 19 February 2007 16:23 (seventeen years ago) link

Abbey National > Abbey

Not really a thing, but utterly mystifying: for a year or two Curry's had adverts featuring Linda Barker snipping away with her scissors and the jingle "Curry's - always cutting prices" (she was cutting prices with the scissors - do you see?). I'm not saying it was a particularly enjoyable advert, but it did its job. Then suddenly they changed the slogan to "Curry's - always lowering prices". What the fuck for? It means the same thing, it's got too many syllables, it loses the alliteration, and they lose a perfectly good jingle.

― Teh HoBBx (HoBB), Monday, 19 February 2007 16:32 (seventeen years ago) link

g-kit > teh_kit

― teh_kit (g-kit), Monday, 19 February 2007 16:47 (seventeen years ago) link

yes, the cutting prices thing. the new bt commercial used to be 'blah blah best man speech, get it wrong and you've ruined your brother's big day' and now it's '... and you're a dead man'.

― koogs (koogs), Monday, 19 February 2007 17:21 (seventeen years ago) link

The toilet air freshener thing. They changed it from:

"Ugh! Lucky mum's got that new toy to make it smell nice again!"

to:

"Ugh! Lucky mum's got that new THINGY to make it smell nice again!"

― JTS (JTS), Monday, 19 February 2007 23:18 (seventeen years ago) link

Meltykiss to Meltyblend

― jw (ex machina), Monday, 19 February 2007 23:20 (seventeen years ago) link

in the 70s hostess chocolate ding-dongs became king dons WHY

some questions may never be answered

― mark coleman (lovebug ), Monday, 19 February 2007 23:23 (seventeen years ago) link

I see this underneath the fruit stands on Clement Street in San Francisco. I know Darkie is a horrible name, but changing it to Darlie?!? and keeping the same image on the box makes me wonder why they even bothered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DarkieToothpaste.jpg

― svend (svend), Monday, 19 February 2007 23:25 (seventeen years ago) link

Dingdong means cock as any "Sister Ray" lovin' fule kno.

― Bellicose Veins (Rock Hardy), Monday, 19 February 2007 23:26 (seventeen years ago) link

"come" to think of it the lil gut busters were sausage shaped

― mark coleman (lovebug ), Monday, 19 February 2007 23:29 (seventeen years ago) link

No, that was Twinkies. Ding Dongs/King Dons are shaped like hockey pucks.

― Bellicose Veins (Rock Hardy), Monday, 19 February 2007 23:31 (seventeen years ago) link

maybe I'm thinking of devilsfood twinkies or some lil debbie thing. can't believe my nominally health-conscious mom bought this crap.

still the name change threw me for a loop...they even created a king don cartoon character to "brand" em if I'm not mistaken

― mark coleman (lovebug ), Monday, 19 February 2007 23:35 (seventeen years ago) link

Oil of Olay was Oil of Ulan in Australia! Fuck, how many diff names did that shit have?

Ulan
Ulay
Olan
Ulaz
Olay
...?

― Trayce (trayce), Monday, 19 February 2007 23:46 (seventeen years ago) link

What was wrong with Datsun?

― a bulldog fed a cookie shaped like a kitten (austin), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 00:01 (seventeen years ago) link

didn't fit into the Boredoms pun

― Captain Purple Items (nu_onimo), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 00:03 (seventeen years ago) link

Those lollie cigarettes being changed from FAGS to FADS.

The company claim it was purely to sidestep associations with Actual Smokes so's not to encourage the kiddies, and has nothing to do with being PC over the word "fags", no siree bob.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 00:06 (seventeen years ago) link

In 1999 it was decided to unify the brand under a global name. Thus Oil of Ulan and Ulay became Olay on a worldwide basis, except in German-speaking regions, where it remained Oil of Olaz. In the Netherlands it was renamed just Olaz.

― max (maxreax), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 00:11 (seventeen years ago) link

your favorite little computer program hoonja-doonja (mac version)

> your favorite little computer program (mac version)

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 00:17 (seventeen years ago) link

"scott towels changed their name to sponge towels??"
there is an ad that begins with this line and explains why in a wacky montage of household spill disasters much to the chagrin of mom in grocery store. it makes me want to never buy them.

― impermanent rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 00:18 (seventeen years ago) link

holy crap that website is creepy

― impermanent rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 00:20 (seventeen years ago) link

Alternate reality games suck consumers into your brand's world

Rebranding - Rescue mission: In a race against time, Kruger's Nancy Marcus managed to successfully rebrand five strong properties before losing trademark rights

― impermanent rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 00:22 (seventeen years ago) link

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5994/puffdaddyxw4.jpg

― PPlains (PPlains), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 00:25 (seventeen years ago) link

john cougar mellencamp
prince

― Wiggy (wiggy), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 02:06 (seventeen years ago) link

DWIs are usually called DUIs now. I miss DWIs.

― just m@tt he1g3s0n (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 02:12 (seventeen years ago) link

What does DWI stand for? I think it has always been DUI here (driving under the influence) so I'm lost as to the W.

/tuomas.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 02:32 (seventeen years ago) link

while intoxicated

― esoj@w3rk (esoj@w3rk), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 02:33 (seventeen years ago) link

The cleaning product formerly known as 'Jif' which suddenly became 'Cif'. I'm sure I read somewhere that this was because they thought 'Jif' had too many different pronunciations around Europe ('jif' in English, 'zhif' in French, 'yif' in German, probably 'hif' in Spanish, etc.) and so it was confusing. I don't know who exactly this would be confusing for: millions of tourists stuck in a foreign land with a desperate need to clean kitchens, finding themselves face to face with a familiar-looking product which has exactly the same packaging and written name, but wait - they don't say it the same way! Cannot compute! I can't see how 'Cif' is an improvement as presumably that could be pronounced as 'kif', 'sif', 'chif', 'thif' and God knows what else. They should have called it 'Ted'.

― Teh HoBBx (HoBB), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 09:19 (seventeen years ago) link

well, there is a well-known British brand of fake lemon juice in a fake plastic lemon called Jif. "Remember the pancakes on Jif Lemon Day". Why exactly? Why not just BUY 1 x LEMON????

so maybe it was summat to do with that....

meanwhile, back at the supermarket, as the Js were giving way to Cs and the plastic lemon had a clear urban clearway into the nation's consciousness, a second product called Bounty wheeled its way onto our shelves, this time a kitchen towel heralded by obvious trannies. To maintain PRODUCT NAME EQUILIBRIUM, mebbe.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 09:23 (seventeen years ago) link

brand of fake lemon juice in a fake plastic lemon called Jif

and as a consequence of that, there's a guy I know here in Oxford called G3off L3mmon who is called Jif by *everyone* (inc his wife).

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 09:25 (seventeen years ago) link

rofl

― Ste (fuzzy), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 09:37 (seventeen years ago) link

Jif/Cif and Jif Lemon are made by the same company.

― Captain Purple Items (nu_onimo), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 10:09 (seventeen years ago) link

and from the same ingredients.

― emsk ( emsk ), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 10:16 (seventeen years ago) link

brand of fake lemon juice in a fake plastic lemon called Jif

shoulda called it jizz. heheh

― nathalie (stevienixed), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 10:35 (seventeen years ago) link

C on your Js

― The Wayward Johnny B (stigoftdumpilx), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 10:38 (seventeen years ago) link

Twix was called Raider in here too, but they changed it a few years ago. Maybe Raider was originally thought to be easier for languages that normally don't use w or x.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 10:50 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh yeah, and Mr. Clean used to be known as "Mr. Proper" in here, I'm not sure why.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 10:56 (seventeen years ago) link

It's called Mr Proper here as well; Not such a surprise as proper means clean in dutch.

― nathalie (stevienixed), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 10:59 (seventeen years ago) link

Twixes of the Lost Ark

― C J (C J), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 11:00 (seventeen years ago) link

Isn't "propre" to clean in french or something?

― kv_nol (kv_nol), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 11:11 (seventeen years ago) link

proper means clean in dutch

does clean mean proper?

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 11:40 (seventeen years ago) link

Huge xpost, but: STD's to STI's was done to take away judgemental/negative language. Infection versus disease. Infection is more like a "bug", disease is more like cancer, in people's minds.
This is my impression from working at a reproductive health clinic, anyway.

― aimurchie (aimurchie), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 13:51 (seventeen years ago) link

kv, yeah, i think it actually refers to the french word.

markh, huh? sorry bad headache...

― nathalie (stevienixed), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 13:52 (seventeen years ago) link

"propre" means "own" in french, as in "her own shirt"

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 13:53 (seventeen years ago) link

J00 GOT PROPRED

― teh_kit (g-kit), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 13:55 (seventeen years ago) link

I once took a meeting where I was pitched an animated TV series based on the Mr Propre character. I said it just wouldn't wash HAHAHA I KILL MYSELF

― It's Teatime in Buttercup Land (Maaarghk C), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 14:06 (seventeen years ago) link

http://retrothing.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/guinnessmarmite.jpg

― jw (ex machina), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 14:08 (seventeen years ago) link

free alcohol!

― StanM (StanM), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 14:13 (seventeen years ago) link

The cleaning product formerly known as 'Jif' which suddenly became 'Cif'.

I don't know if this would be the reason for your namechange, but this is what Americans think of when they think of Jif.

http://shopuncleharrys.dukestores.duke.edu/images/jelly%20p%20035.jpg

― PPlains (PPlains), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 14:20 (seventeen years ago) link

Arrgh the Jif cognitive dissonance is killing me right now!

'propre' means 'clean' as well as 'own' in French, depending where you put it in the sentence.

Now, how come I, as an ntl customer, didn't have any inkling that it was becoming 'Virgin Media' until we phoned to pay our broadband bill?

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 14:22 (seventeen years ago) link

we Virgin Mobile customers have known about it for months, Arch!

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 14:26 (seventeen years ago) link

I am a virgin mobile customer as well!!!

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 14:30 (seventeen years ago) link

actually that reminds me Archel - I remember trying to call you abt something; probably to congratulate you on the birth of Alice thinking about it, and I got a recorded voice saying that the no. wasn't recognised. I think the previous time I rang you may have been on the day of a sinister picnic or possibly that time we went to the park in Brighton for yr birthday (a long time ago anyway) so if you could let me know yr new no. if you want me to have it then I will update my phone (the email addy here works)

Oh I got a letter from Virgin Mobile saying how exciting it was that Virgin mobile and NTL were joining forces to form Virgin Media and giving me a chance to go on the website and win a ticket to the launch party. I didn't bother coz it was on Valentine's Day.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 14:37 (seventeen years ago) link

You see, my child, when two companies love each other very much....

― Laurel (Laurel), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 14:51 (seventeen years ago) link

Aha, I think I may have outrun Virgin's mailings by moving house a lot. And yes I think I have also changed my phone number since we last spoke Mark. Hard to track down, that's me. Email on the way!

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 21:05 (seventeen years ago) link

i remember when i was about 8 or 9 i came home from school and found my parents changed their names and moved to florida or georgia or something. man that was tough at first.

― chicago kevin cleaned a lot of plates in memphis (chicago kevin), Tuesday, 20 February 2007 21:24 (seventeen years ago) link

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