Brandcurve - branding and marketing

Nine Brand Names in Oxford Dictionary

by Susan Gunelius on September 7th, 2007

Many brand names have become common terms for an item.  Kleenex is a great example.  Often a person will say, “I need a Kleenex,” rather than using the generic word, tissue.  The person doesn’t necessarily need a Kleenex brand tissue.  Any brand will do, but the word Kleenex has become a common substitute for the generic word, tissue.

Nine brand names like this have made it into The Oxford Dictionary from Britain.  According to Socyberty, the following brand names (all of which are trademarked) are included in The Oxford Dictionary:

1.  
   1. Hoover
   2. Xerox
   3. Thermos
   4. Prozac
   5. Spandex
   6. Jello
   7. Tampax
   8. Band-Aid
   9. Viagra

Like many of the commenters on the post at Socyberty, I’m surprised that brand names like Prozac and Viagra were included in The Oxford Dictionary while brand names like Kleenex and Q-Tip were not.  What do you think?  Are you surprised that any of the brand names on the list would make it into a dictionary?  Can you think of any others that are noticeably missing?

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POSTED IN: Brand Name, Trademark