Mondelez, vormals Kraft: Life Imitates Satire

brand meets world

Die korrekte Aussprache von Mondelez ist Mohn-dah-LEEZ. Gleich merken für heiteres Produkteraten an Supermarktkasse und Kühlregal.

Kraft heißt nun für alle Snack Foods in Europa Mondelez:

Shareholders of Kraft Foods on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved Mondelez International as the name of the $35 billion snack foods company that will be created when the company finally splits sometime later this year.

Und hier das Logo, über das sich andere hermachen dürfen, die mehr davon verstehen:

Mondelez: Das Logo

Keine Marketing- oder Werbeagentur wurde beauftragt, sondern ein Namenswettbewerb des Personals initiiert. Hergeleitet ist dieses Kunstwort aus den Begriffen »Welt« und »deliziös« mit romanisch-europäischem Aroma:

[“C]uriously, two different employees came up with essentially the same suggestion for the name, though with a slightly different spelling,” said Michael Mitchell, a spokesman for Kraft. [B]oth men had arrived at the notion of a name connoting “delicious world.” Johannes Schmidt, an information systems employee in the company’s Vienna office, had looked for something with the cadences of a waltz, he said. Marc Firestone, the general counsel based in the company’s headquarters in Northfield, Ill., had come to the name on a drive from Brussels to Frankfurt on business. There was no prize “other than our undying love and the honor of having named the new company,” Mr. Mitchell said.

Corporate Realsatire, die sich aber weiter toppen läßt:

Discarded name candidates ranged from the cultivated (“Panvoro,” Latin for eating) to the not-so-cultivated (“tfark,” which is Kraft spelled backward) to the outright cryptic (“Arrtx”—the employee who suggested it provided no explanation on what the letters signified).

Daher, Mondelez.

Alles, was den Namen einer großen Marke ausmacht: intuitiv, bedeutungsschlank, aussprachefreundlich, konsumentennah und memoriert sich wie von selbst.

Dazu auch ein schöner Fall von Life Imitates Art, oder vielmehr Life Imitates Satire. In Ben Eltons Roman Gridlock von 1991, einer großartigen Satire auf Verkehr, Verkehrspolitik und die Autoindustrie, bringt der amerikanische Automobilkonzern “Global Motors” ein neues Modell mit dem Namen “Crappee” auf den europäischen Markt:

Global Motors’ new hatchback was to be a Euro car down to the underseal. It was to have Euro styling, Euro engineering and a Euro name, the Crappee. The Global Crappee. The French market research had reacted favorably, the Italians were enthusiastic, even the Germans seemed interested, although they would have preferred Krappy. […]

Arrived [in London] from Detroit, faced with an entire new model range called Crappee, [Sam’s] cringing minions attempted to defend themselves. … ‘It seemed so right,’ they spluttered … ‘The Germans wanted something hard, something resonant of engineering. They suggested Krupp after the great arms manufacturer. But the Italian guys were looking for something lighthearted, something fun. Their suggestion was Caprice. The French reckoned everybody would be doing that. They wanted something multi-cultural, something ethnic, something cool. Their people suggested the Global Rapper … And, well, we all felt that Crappee combined all the elements suggested; being resonant of engineering, holiday fun and ethnic culture.’

‘And shit,’ said Sam.

Gridlock — der beste Autohasserroman aller Zeiten. Genießt ihn am besten bei leckeren Snacks von, äh, Mohn-dah-LEEZ!

If you have something valuable to add or some interesting point to discuss, I’ll be looking forward to meeting you at Mastodon!

Tagged as: killed by copy, schmocks & schmonzes