Web Activity 8.5 Product names and "sunken" meanings

Many new product names correspond to existing words of English. Such parasitic names include:

Tide

Apple

Jaguar

Dove

Generate a list of as many such ambiguous product names as you can think of in two minutes.

Discussion questions

It should be obvious from your list that these words are not randomly chosen. Based on what you now know about word recognition, what are the potential advantages that a company might reap from adopting such a strategy? What factors should a company keep in mind when choosing a name, and why? Consider, for instance, the possible implications of semantic priming, neighborhood density, parallel activation of multiple candidates, and dominant versus subordinate meanings. These notions bear on questions such as the following:

What impressions does the name create of the product?

How memorable is the product name relative to other similar products?

What do you think happens when people hear sentences such as:

The tide is coming in.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.