Have a Way with Words?
As an intern in the Verbal Branding Department here at Addison Whitney, I have taken on a whole new appreciation for words, letters, word parts, etc. Twisting, turning, disecting, combining, relocating, truncating; who knew so many actions were possible with one word? The following are a few riddles designed to give your brain a word workout.
Do you have a way with words?
1. What is it that, after you take away the whole, some still remains?
2. I'm where yesterday follows today, and tomorrow's in the middle. What am I?
3.From the beginning of eternity
To the end of time and space
To the beginning of every end
And the end of every place.
What am I?
4.What vehicle is spelled the same way backwards and forwards?
5. What is in the middle of Paris?
6. What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment and never in a thousand years?
7. What is so fragile, even saying its name can break it?
8. What 11-letter English word does everyone pronounce incorrectly?
Look for the answers posted soon!
Contributed by Carrie Friedrich
Introducing Dr. Doggie
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Apparently man’s best friend is taking on a whole new meaning…lifesavers! I’m not talking about Lassie, seeing eye dogs, or Newfoundland rescue dogs. I’m talking about trained “health care professionals.”
About five years ago, research began as an investigation done by an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. John Hunt. He was curious about numerous reports of dogs pestering their owners repeatedly on parts of their bodies that were later found to be cancerous. Hunt’s research showed that dogs’ hypersensitive noses are capable of detecting cancer cells and abnormalities in humans. Recently, the case of Paul Jackson, who suffers from diabetes, revealed that dogs can also warn their owners when their sugar levels get too low.
These findings led to British dogs specifically being trained to sniff out certain health dangers in humans at the Cancer and Bio-Detection Dogs research centre in Aylesburg, England. This Reuters article offers great insight on the details of how dogs are capable of having this innate skill.
So, is this the beginning of a new means for patient diagnosis? It may not be practical to have a dog in every doctor’s office, but researchers are attempting to invent an electronic nose that will be capable of mimicking this ability. The device is currently said to be about 15 years behind. Either way, these findings definitely prove that man’s best friend offers much more than companionship.
Contributed by: Ashley Hollingsworth
Hilarious Movie Promotion
I was watching the Discovery channel last night and saw a commercial that still has me cracking up. The commercial was for an upcoming episode of Man vs. Wild with host Bear Grylls but featuring the comedian Will Ferrell as a special guest. The whole stunt is to promote Will Ferrell’s new movie “Land of the Lost” which is about surviving an alternate universe with aliens and dinosaurs. However, the strategy of promoting the movie by having Will Ferrell survive the wild in this universe is creative and hilarious! It’s also effective as I will definitely be tuning in tonight at 10pm to watch. Click here to watch the commercial.
Contributed by Evelyn Chapin
Got Turkey Neck?
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What exactly is Turkey Neck? Do I have one? How do you know, and why am I even asking these questions?
StriVectin Neck Cream has used this inquisitive tactic to uncover various fears of women, and by fears, I’m referring to the ones created by the beauty industry. Sporting a prestigious black and gold layout, a new print advertisement for this product bluntly asks, Got Turkey Neck?
Most women have never heard this phrase; therefore, have never even thought to look for ways of treating it. Well lucky for them, StriVectin has now not only allowed women to self-diagnoseRead more
Word of the Day: Cyberchondria
We use the internet for just about everything. The internet has replaced malls (we can shop online), banks (we can manage our money online), and even schools (we can earn a college degree online).
Some people are even using the internet to replace doctors. ‘Cyberchondria’ is the term used to describe an increase in online health concerns. Cyberchondria has a couple of different ‘strands’, if you will. Some Cyberchondriacs may enter their symptoms into a search engine and arrive at a self diagnosis based on the search results. Because everything on the internet is reliable and specified information, the cyberchondriac becomes convinced that he has whatever ailment his search engine produced and goes to his doctor demanding testing or treatment.
For example, a cyberchondriac may conduct a search for ‘vomiting’. He is led to a MayoClinic, Wikipedia, or WedMd site that lists ‘vomiting’ as a symptom of parasitic infection. Thus, he determines that he is indeed the host of a stomach inhabiting parasite and should high-tail it to theRead more
Is Laughter Really the Best Medicine?
There are two new comedies coming out that plan to lift the stress of these hard economics times with laughter. But are we ready to laugh about it yet?
An untitled series starring Kelsey Grammer takes a Wall Street millionaire and turns him into “Mr. Mom” for a family that he doesn’t spend any time with.
The series “Canned” is about several friends that lose their jobs with an investment bank and must take hold of their lives. It is an interesting approach because it forces them to sit back and analyze their lives at a young age. Sometimes bad situations are the best thing that can happen to a person.
Although these shows are not being shot until April, producers are already looking for the brands thatRead more
Creative Naming Fights for Freedom from Censors
In our daily quest to create names that are strategically on-target AND available for trademark, our verbal branding team employs the full range of symbolism, metaphors and illusions. With that, we are always on the look-out for new and creative word and letter usages.
One fairly new naming trend uses letter strings to make a name that phonetically sounds like a word...think Motorola RAZR and KRZR. While we explore this type of naming strategy to help our clients pass the trademark process, some artists are using a similar strategy to foil censorship policies.
A Chinese "children's" song on YouTube tells the simple story of the "Grass Mud Horse" (picture a lama) that lives in "Ma Le Desert" and battles the "river crab" to protect its grass. If you think thatRead more
Small is the New Big
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Apparently I’ve been out of the loop recently when it comes to how much a person is supposed to consume during a meal. Does “value meal” now mean that you only need one to feed your whole family?
I know that these larger than life sizes have been around for a while. We’ve all seen or heard about the movie Super Size Me, but I feel that recently the sizes of drinks have reached an all time BIG!
This came to me during a recent trip to one of my favorite fast food restaurants…which will remainRead more
Whatchu Talkin’ About Willis?
Re-branding and corporate name changing initiatives are commonplace in the branding world. It’s only human nature that it takes time for a new name to catch on once we’ve gotten used to the old one. That’s why in June, it will take some time to get used to the new identity of the nation’s tallest skyscraper. The Sears Tower as we’ve known it since 1973 will officially be renamed the Willis Tower. The London-based insurance broker, Willis Group Holdings is consolidating its Chicago offices and will acquire the building’s naming rights. How will local Chicagoans embrace the new name? Being such an iconic and international landmark, I imagine it may take months, if not years for the new name to catch on.
By: Kelly Wilson
Throx and The Fizz
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No, it’s not the name of a new-age band. Throx and The Fizz are two new products that are just too interesting to resist!
Throx
“The cure for the missing sock.” This is the product that that solves the mystery of the sock monster. When that one sock goes missing, you have a replacement, the third sock. There are several different designs and most come in adult and kid sizes. Inventor, Edwin Heaven, believes that if tires come withRead more