Brand Names That Have Replaced the Generic Name of Their Product (1 Viewer)

[ClownCausedChaos2]

I was thinking about this yesterday. What products have come to be known by a specific brand name?

For instance, Kleenex. Kleenex is a brand of facial tissue, but you rarely hear anyone ask for a facial tissue. They ask for a Kleenex.

Another example would be Band-Aid. People refer to them as band-aids more than they refer to them as adhesive bandages.

 

[Parrothead]

Xerox

Coke

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Fleshlight

 

[rockaction]

Murphy Beds, once upon a time.

I think this is what trademark law calls genericide. It's a doctrine in ™ law where you actually lose the right to the protection your name because it becomes so synonymous with a product.

 

[ClownCausedChaos2]

Fleshlight

There are others?

 

[matttyl]

The ones that will surprise you (I did a paper about these in college)

Jet Ski

Jacuzzi

Crock Pot

Roller Blades

Sharpie

Frisbee

Other more scientific names as well like Styrofoam and Plexiglass

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

Zamboni

Post-its

 

[Keerock]

Q-Tips

 

[Black Box]

Google

 

[fantasycurse42]

Q-Tips

Was gonna post this.

 

[Tecumseh]

The ones that will surprise you (I did a paper about these in college)

Jet Ski

Jacuzzi

Crock Pot

Roller Blades

Sharpie

Frisbee

Other more scientific names as well like Styrofoam and Plexiglass

I know we've done this thread before, because I remember posting this same thing; what most people think of when they think styrofoam is actually not styrofoam- it's expanded polystyrene. The white beaded material is made when the beads are molded together. Styrofoam is actually extruded polystyrene, rather than expanded polystyrene. Similar raw materials, but a different manufacturing process. Styrofoam is the Dow name brand, and is blue, while other brands of extruded poly are pink or green. Expanded polystyrene is nearly always white.

tl;dr- This is an odd case where the name is ubiquitous, but it's for the wrong product.

 

[ClownCausedChaos2]

The ones that will surprise you (I did a paper about these in college)

Jet Ski

Jacuzzi

Crock Pot

Roller Blades

Sharpie

Frisbee

Other more scientific names as well like Styrofoam and Plexiglass

I know we've done this thread before, because I remember posting this same thing; what most people think of when they think styrofoam is actually not styrofoam- it's expanded polystyrene. The white beaded material is made when the beads are molded together. Styrofoam is actually extruded polystyrene, rather than expanded polystyrene. Similar raw materials, but a different manufacturing process. Styrofoam is the Dow name brand, and is blue, while other brands of extruded poly are pink or green. Expanded polystyrene is nearly always white. tl;dr- This is an odd case where the name is ubiquitous, but it's for the wrong product.

Go on...

 

[Godsbrother]

I'm not sure if it is still true but people used to refer to any laminate as Formica

 

[Tecumseh]

The ones that will surprise you (I did a paper about these in college)

Jet Ski

Jacuzzi

Crock Pot

Roller Blades

Sharpie

Frisbee

Other more scientific names as well like Styrofoam and Plexiglass

I know we've done this thread before, because I remember posting this same thing; what most people think of when they think styrofoam is actually not styrofoam- it's expanded polystyrene. The white beaded material is made when the beads are molded together. Styrofoam is actually extruded polystyrene, rather than expanded polystyrene. Similar raw materials, but a different manufacturing process. Styrofoam is the Dow name brand, and is blue, while other brands of extruded poly are pink or green. Expanded polystyrene is nearly always white. tl;dr- This is an odd case where the name is ubiquitous, but it's for the wrong product.

Go on...

Be careful what you wish for.

 

[El Floppo]

Sheetrock

 

[ClownCausedChaos2]

The ones that will surprise you (I did a paper about these in college)

Jet Ski

Jacuzzi

Crock Pot

Roller Blades

Sharpie

Frisbee

Other more scientific names as well like Styrofoam and Plexiglass

I know we've done this thread before, because I remember posting this same thing; what most people think of when they think styrofoam is actually not styrofoam- it's expanded polystyrene. The white beaded material is made when the beads are molded together. Styrofoam is actually extruded polystyrene, rather than expanded polystyrene. Similar raw materials, but a different manufacturing process. Styrofoam is the Dow name brand, and is blue, while other brands of extruded poly are pink or green. Expanded polystyrene is nearly always white. tl;dr- This is an odd case where the name is ubiquitous, but it's for the wrong product.

Go on...

Be careful what you wish for.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Murphy Beds, once upon a time.

I think this is what trademark law calls genericide. It's a doctrine in ™ law where you actually lose the right to the protection your name because it becomes so synonymous with a product.

I believe one of the first to die from genericide was Aspirin.

 

[heckmanm]

Murphy Beds, once upon a time.

I think this is what trademark law calls genericide. It's a doctrine in ™ law where you actually lose the right to the protection your name because it becomes so synonymous with a product.

I believe one of the first to die from genericide was Aspirin.

Thus the awkward phrasing in commercials like when they had to jam "brand" in to the old "I am stuck on Band-Aid (brand)" jingle.

 

[Parrothead]

Vaseline

 

[snitwitch]

Murphy Beds, once upon a time.

I think this is what trademark law calls genericide. It's a doctrine in law where you actually lose the right to the protection your name because it becomes so synonymous with a product.

I believe one of the first to die from genericide was Aspirin.

cellophane also.

windsurfer was the OG brand of sailboards

 

[top dog]

sawzall

 

[Leroy Hoard]

There is always room for Jell-O® Brand Gelatin.

 

[top dog]

vice grips

 

[Parrothead]

Trojans

 

[psychobillies]

sawzall

Skill Saw

 

[AcerFC]

I cheated and searched the web, but a few interesting ones

Bubble wrap

Dumpster

Ping pong

Hula hoop

Eta: white out

 

[hagmania]

Jet Ski, Roller Blades, Aspirin all surprise me.

On a converse note, Oreo was the generic brand of Hydrox cookies.

Edit: just saw Dumpster. That one is surprising.

 

[ClownCausedChaos2]

Kind of makes you wonder what the generic name is for some of these things. Particularly, the ones that you didn't realize were a brand name.

What is a generic hula hoop called? Generic bubble wrap?

 

[Bogart]

Probably a lot of household cleaners fall into this:

Windex

Pledge

Comet

I never ask for the "glass cleaner", "furniture polish", "whatever the hell all purpose cleaner Comet is"

 

[Parrothead]

Probably a lot of household cleaners fall into this:

Windex

Pledge

Comet

I never ask for the "glass cleaner", "furniture polish", "whatever the hell all purpose cleaner Comet is"

Draino

 

[Despyzer]

Super Glue

Duct Tape

 

[chauncey]

Seems like a lot of people refer to all Android phones as Droids. Also seems a lot of people refer to all smartphones as iphones.

 

[17seconds]

"Polo shirt" got an assist from Ralph Lauren

 

[Evilgrin 72]

Dixie cups.

 

[Scoresman]

Dixie Normous

 

[17seconds]

Thermos

When is the last time you said "honey, make sure to bring the vacuum flask for camping."?

 

[Mister CIA]

U-Haul is close.

 

[headcrack]

Chapstick

 

[Insein]

Xerox

Coke

Its a copy and blow.

 

[Insein]

I was thinking about this yesterday. What products have come to be known by a specific brand name?

For instance, Kleenex. Kleenex is a brand of facial tissue, but you rarely hear anyone ask for a facial tissue. They ask for a Kleenex.

Another example would be Band-Aid. People refer to them as band-aids more than they refer to them as adhesive bandages.

They ask for a tissue. No one under the age of 70 asks for a Kleenex.

 

[Scoresman]

I was thinking about this yesterday. What products have come to be known by a specific brand name?

For instance, Kleenex. Kleenex is a brand of facial tissue, but you rarely hear anyone ask for a facial tissue. They ask for a Kleenex.

Another example would be Band-Aid. People refer to them as band-aids more than they refer to them as adhesive bandages.

They ask for a tissue. No one under the age of 70 asks for a Kleenex.

Wat

 

[DocHolliday]

Velcro

 

[John Bender]

Bilco for bulkhead doors (at least in PA)

Even my real estate was baffled when I referred to the basement downward entry door as a "Bulkhead" door. She's only (and others I've asked in PA) have called them a Bilco door.

 

[larch]

TiVo

 

[ClownCausedChaos2]

I was thinking about this yesterday. What products have come to be known by a specific brand name?

For instance, Kleenex. Kleenex is a brand of facial tissue, but you rarely hear anyone ask for a facial tissue. They ask for a Kleenex.

Another example would be Band-Aid. People refer to them as band-aids more than they refer to them as adhesive bandages.

They ask for a tissue. No one under the age of 70 asks for a Kleenex.

I respectfully disagree.

 

[Uncle Leo]

Nothing bigger than Coke. I still ask for a Coke at a pizza shop and sometimes they say, " is Pepsi ok?"

 

[njherdfan]

Murphy Beds, once upon a time.

I think this is what trademark law calls genericide. It's a doctrine in ™ law where you actually lose the right to the protection your name because it becomes so synonymous with a product.

Yep. And companies (think Coke and Pepsi) will send investigators into restaurants that serve the competitor's product. An "undercover" Coke employee will go into a restaurant that serves Pepsi and ask for a Coke, and if the waiter doesn't correct the "investigator" then the restaurant will get a strongly worded letter in a few days. Xerox does the same thing.

 

[comfortably numb]

Your mom

 

[pollardsvision]

An interesting question is which brands/products have gained, then lost, this status.

I'd say there's a case to be made that a lot have, like Xerox, TiVo, Sheetrock, Aspirin, and Kleenex all might've.

I'd think people might be more likely to say copy, DVR, drywall, whatever NSAID they really mean, and tissue these days than those brand names.

 

[njherdfan]

An interesting question is which brands/products have gained, then lost, this status.

I'd say there's a case to be made that a lot have, like Xerox, TiVo, Sheetrock, Aspirin, and Kleenex all might've.

I'd think people might be more likely to say copy, DVR, drywall, whatever NSAID they really mean, and tissue these days than those brand names.

Singer (sewing machines) and Goodyear (for tires) both did.