I know that brand, but isn't the name wrong? The weird world of international branding

[Nevermore]

All of these are by the same company. They're just released in different markets.


Same story here: International man of mystery.


And who doesn't know this?


Or this?


Me personally, I'm familar with this chain, but I assume many of you think there's a wrong letter in the name.


Just to reiterate: None of these are imitations or blatant attempts to cash in on a famous brand. They're all legitimately associated with the same company that uses whichever name in whichever country you live in. It's just that for some reason, they have decided to modify or completely change the name for certain markets. Which then causes confusion for international tourists.

 

[wonko the sane?]

I can tell you that "poulet frit kentucky" was literally just KFC attempting to comply with quebecs language laws, but if they had stood their ground as other chain stores did, they would have retained the right to use their trademark in advertising.

 

[Pocket]

Hungry Jack's has a really fun story behind it. "Hungry Jack" is a brand of pancake mix in the US, and that's not a coincidence: for most of its existence, Burger King was actually owned by Pillsbury. When an Australian approached them about franchising, and it turned out there was already a restaurant called Burger King there (as in a single independent burger joint whose owner apparently didn't want to sell the rights), they sent him a list of phrases they had already trademarked and said pick one. The man's name happened to be Jack, so it was an easy choice.

 

[DefaultOption]

Me personally, I'm familar with this chain, but I assume many of you think there's a wrong letter in the name.

They shifted that one letter because there was already a "T.J. <something I don't remember>" in the UK.

 

[Nevermore]

They shifted that one letter because there was already a "T.J. <something I don't remember>" in the UK.

In Germany too? Because we also have T.K. Maxx.

 

[DefaultOption]

According to Wikipedia:

In the UK, TJ Maxx is known as TK Maxx—as well as in Poland, The Netherlands and Germany. The name was modified to avoid confusion with the British retail chain T. J. Hughes.

I would assume that it's easier to keep their branding consistent across Europe than operate with slightly different names.

 

[Nevermore]

According to Wikipedia:



I would assume that it's easier to keep their branding consistent across Europe than operate with slightly different names.

Tell that to Opel and Vauxhall.

 

[TM2-Megatron]

This is one I've always found especially amusing.

 

[Pocket]

On that note, does Lay's/Walker's count? They were both separate brands originally, and then Frito-Lay decided to redesign the Walker's bag to match the Lay's one after the buyout.

 

[Nevermore]

From what I understand, a European Milky Way bar is more or less the same as a US 3 Musketeers bar.

Meanwhile, a US Milky Way bar is known as a Mars bar in Europe.

Confused yet?

 

[NovaSaber]

And in the US, a Mars bar used to be something else different, with almonds in it; Snickers Almond is the closest you can get to it now.

For that matter, Snickers used to be called Marathon in the UK. There is (was?) also a "Snickers Marathon" energy bar in the US.

Basically, they're the Street Fighter II bosses of chocolate.

 

[Nevermore]

Here's a Transformers example:

English toyline and cartoon title in the US, the UK, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and also the Canadian toyline title: "Beast Wars"
Canadian French toyline title: "Guerre des Bêtes"
Latin American Spanish toyline and cartoon title: "Guerra de Bestias"
Canadian English cartoon title: "Beasties"
Canadian French cartoon title: "Robots-Bêtes"
Italian toyline and cartoon title: "Biocombat"
European French toyline and cartoon title: "Ani Mutants"

That's three different French titles between Canada and France!

 

[LiamA]

Doesn't Lay's have some alternate name in other countries but the same logo?

 

[LiamA]

On that note, does Lay's/Walker's count? They were both separate brands originally, and then Frito-Lay decided to redesign the Walker's bag to match the Lay's one after the buyout.

Thank you for that. You pretty much answered my question about Lay's.

 

[Pocket]

Oh, and if the Lay's/Walker's situation counts, there are also cases of the same thing happening even within a single country. Hardee's and Carl's Jr. are effectively the same restaurant, and so are Checkers and Rally's. Different names, same logo style and décor, same menu as far as I know. Hardee's and Carl's Jr.—which are both named after their respective real founders—even invented a fictional spokescharacter named "Carl Hardee Sr." at one point.

The United States is big, yo.

 

[Princess Viola]

Similar to the above: Hellmann's (mostly known for their mayonnaise but they apparently do other condiments too) is sold as Best Foods to the west of the Rocky Mountains here in the US, as well as in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

 

[Pocket]

And meanwhile I'm pretty sure there's some completely different no-name store brand called Best Foods in the eastern US.

 

[DarkeklawGW]

Here's a video on Checkers and Rally's

 

[Megatronus Prime]

Here's a Transformers example:
View attachment 3666

English toyline and cartoon title in the US, the UK, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and also the Canadian toyline title: "Beast Wars"
Canadian French toyline title: "Guerre des Bêtes"
Latin American Spanish toyline and cartoon title: "Guerra de Bestias"
Canadian English cartoon title: "Beasties"
Canadian French cartoon title: "Robots-Bêtes"
Italian toyline and cartoon title: "Biocombat"
European French toyline and cartoon title: "Ani Mutants"

That's three different French titles between Canada and France!

Dunno why, but I wonder what the canadian star wars name is.

 

[Megatronus Prime]

And meanwhile I'm pretty sure there's some completely different no-name store brand called Best Foods in the eastern US.

Is best foods a grocery store? A grocery store my family goes to alot is just called County Market.