What's with the accent in glacéau water?
Mar07 Filed in: Lifestyle
Trying to be chic or pretentious or damn right confusing - that is the ultimate mission of the marketers of Glacéau, Hâagen Dazs, and Mötorhead. Take a banal product, (water) plant a jarring idea about it in the mind of the consumer, (ie a dumb ass misplaced and gramatically incorrect accent) and wait for the product name to stick in the universal mindset.
For anyone who cares about French, Glacé means iced in that language of sickly romantics, and eau means agua, wasser, water, but combined in that order it is back-to-front misspelt French that means almost nothing. But while the name, Glacéaú means almost nothing to French speakers, it has lots of significance to the bottom line of the US company that earns millions from the name.
How depressing to fall into the marketers' trap so easily and spend time talking about colored vitamin water. Much more interesting to discuss made up ice-cream Häagen Dazs or heavy rockers Mötorhead with an umlaut. Go figure!
The ice-ceam guys with a made-up name are now in cahoots with Nestlé, the company with a real genuine accennt.
Once the world's loudest live band, and fronted by an ex Hells Angel, Lemmy, who would have thought Motorhead needed to be cute with a German accent.
But it worked for them, so Mótley Crüe went one umlaut better. Perlease. The next thing is Britney will try to break all the rules and become Brítnéy, the only Hispanic entity on earth with two accents in her name!
Glacéau deconstructed
For anyone who cares about French, Glacé means iced in that language of sickly romantics, and eau means agua, wasser, water, but combined in that order it is back-to-front misspelt French that means almost nothing. But while the name, Glacéaú means almost nothing to French speakers, it has lots of significance to the bottom line of the US company that earns millions from the name.
More than just an umlaut
How depressing to fall into the marketers' trap so easily and spend time talking about colored vitamin water. Much more interesting to discuss made up ice-cream Häagen Dazs or heavy rockers Mötorhead with an umlaut. Go figure!
The ice-ceam guys with a made-up name are now in cahoots with Nestlé, the company with a real genuine accennt.
Once the world's loudest live band, and fronted by an ex Hells Angel, Lemmy, who would have thought Motorhead needed to be cute with a German accent.
But it worked for them, so Mótley Crüe went one umlaut better. Perlease. The next thing is Britney will try to break all the rules and become Brítnéy, the only Hispanic entity on earth with two accents in her name!
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