Naming brands/models

[gunhilltrain]

Because it isn't a risk. I fully expect a British writer to use terms like lorry and biscuit where appropriate, it adds flavor to the writing.
We shouldn't make our writing generic because we don't have faith in our readers. They can either figure it out from the context or open a new tab and Google it.
We had a discussion here about vocabulary, and using words that aren't in common usage, and it really isn't any different.
One of my FMCs drives a McLaren. I doubt if anyone got offended and stopped reading the story because they weren't familiar with that particular make.

How would you like this company name on your résumé? And how did that happen? The company was founded in Mexico City eighty years ago, and they forgot to check what it meant in English. (Much like how General Motors forgot to check what Nova meant in Spanish). I suppose when they started their American division, they could have come up with a different name but they didn't. (Mazda cars come from a Japanese company with another name.)

https://www.nimbleads.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Bimbo-Bakeries-USA.jpg

 

[Kelliezgirl]

How would you like this company name on your résumé? And how did that happen? The company was founded in Mexico City eighty years ago, and they forgot to check what it meant in English. (Much like how General Motors forgot to check what Nova meant in Spanish). I suppose when they started their American division, they could have come up with a different name but they didn't. (Mazda cars come from a Japanese company with another name.)

https://www.nimbleads.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Bimbo-Bakeries-USA.jpg

Why would they have bothered to check what it meant in English 80 years ago? They probably never imagined they'd expand into an English speaking market.
Incidentally, it isn't pronounced the same way as the English term. It's more Beam-bow.
It wouldn't bother me to have that on my resume at all. Everyone in the industry knows who they are, and adults can get past the Jr high snickering.

 

[StillStunned]

Why would they have bothered to check what it meant in English 80 years ago? They probably never imagined they'd expand into an English speaking market.

I also suspect that 80 years ago the English-speaking world wasn't as dominant as it is today. The average Spanish speaker (whether from Europe, Latin America or Asia) probably wouldn't have considered English the be all and end all of international business.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Fair comment.


That is fine if the story is set in the present day, but the difference could be relevant if set in the past.

Now you are talking about anachronism, which is a whole separate issue.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I also suspect that 80 years ago the English-speaking world wasn't as dominant as it is today. The average Spanish speaker (whether from Europe, Latin America or Asia) probably wouldn't have considered English the be all and end all of international business.

They probably couldn't have imagined it being an international business at some future point. General Motors, however, should have known better.

The first time I ever saw the brand was at a nearby "dollar" store. Yeah, it's not the highest quality bread. I wonder if people imagine what's in these trucks? It looks like something from those Story Ideas posters. "You don't go to the hookers; they come to you."

https://patch.com/img/cdn/users/378861/2012/09/raw/be395618fae823ee36c8d4ed8d3dbfa7.jpg

 

[lovecraft68]

You just need specialty coverage now. Unfortunately that limits how many miles you can drive.

Yup. The "classic" part of it is when they value it for state taxes they don't value it as an old car they value it high cause...."classic"

 

[ElectricBlue]

It would be understood by Americans, but it would sound odd. These days why specify mobile? Unless you specify a landline the assumption will be it's a cellphone.

In Australia, they've always been mobile phones, ever since they came on the market. I don't recall us ever calling them cellphones.

Writers should write their own cultural jargon, there's no need to translate for other nations.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

In Australia, they've always been mobile phones, ever since they came on the market. I don't recall us ever calling them cellphones.

Writers should write their own cultural jargon, there's no need to translate for other nations.

I agree, if an Australian tried to sanitize all the "Australianisms" from their story just in case someone didn't understand them, they'd alienate their actual Australian fans and have a weaker story for their efforts.

 

[Writer61]

In Australia, they've always been mobile phones, ever since they came on the market. I don't recall us ever calling them cellphones.

Writers should write their own cultural jargon, there's no need to translate for other nations.

It seems that my example has taken on a life of its own in this thread.

I am not advocating for the elimination of cultural references in stories. Call a bog a dunny, or a mobile a handy (as the Germans do) as appropriate.

My point is that I prefer to refer to a thing rather than a particular brand/model of such a thing (which is what the OP was about). If a character must be eating a Tim-Tam rather than a biscuit, slip into your thongs and go for it.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Writers should write their own cultural jargon, there's no need to translate for other nations.

Depends how many readers you wish to deter. It's a delicate balance: some local terms provide flavour, as long as readers can guess what they mean from context. Doesn't matter if they're brands or other terms.

Enough local terms that people using a different dialect struggle to decode it even when they try? People who like literature may enjoy that. Those wanting a quick thoughtless wank likely won't.

This doesn't stop me playing with language in some of my stories, because I enjoy it, but if I want my story to be readily understood by all, it's helpful to know what terms are regional before wondering why a story called Dogging And A Cheeky Nando's falls rather flat.

I was recently flipping through a shopping guide for foreigners, to a country I used to live in. It helpfully explained lots of local food items - by using American brands. I now know what Bisquick and saltines are, but knowing that xxxx is actually 'Zwieback' or 'General Tso sauce' or 'goldfish crackers' is still meaningless. At least in a story, the detail is unlikely to matter as long as you make clear it's a food item.

 

[MillieDynamite]

My favorite band name model of the 1990s was Beverly Peele; in fact, she was a SuperModel. I wish I could've been her!



Oops, you mean products. Well, I still stand by Beverly Peele, statement.

 

[gunhilltrain]

My favorite band name model of the 1990s was Beverly Peele; in fact, she was a SuperModel. I wish I could've been her!

View attachment 2339998

Oops, you mean products. Well, I still stand by Beverly Peele, statement.

I don't mean to give you or her a hard time, but celebrities are in effect - sort of - products and thus brands. Also, from what I understand, the loss of anonymity can be a downside. Some of them handle it better than others, but many of them have commented on it.

Now that I think of it, Marlon Brando did say, when feuding with a director, something like, "I've got the Marlon Brando brand to protect."

 

[MillieDynamite]

Yeah, I get that. That's why I'm not fussed about not being a best-selling author. I write what I write, like Popeye says, "I Yam What I Yam. geeheee geehee."

 

[gunhilltrain]

Yeah, I get that. That's why I'm not fussed about not being a best-selling author. I write what I write, like Popeye says, "I Yam What I Yam. geeheee geehee."

The idea of being famous is appealing athough, probably fortunately, hard to achieve. Some of us may think, "I would be the same person anyway. And I'd treat my fans well."

That probably lasts less than a week. I've heard of an actor who had a secondary role in a movie. (I think he was in the principal in Ferris Beuller.) The movie came out on a Friday, and by Tuesday people were coming up to him in the street and repeating his lines back to him. This must be it, and he had more lines than I remember.

 

[mildlyaroused]

As far as fame goes, I don't think being a popular author would be that bad. To be honest, if I passed some of my favourite authors in the street I probably wouldn't even notice them. Obviously there are levels, but you really have to make it big as a writer to attract that movie-level of fame.

 

[gunhilltrain]

As far as fame goes, I don't think being a popular author would be that bad. To be honest, if I passed some of my favourite authors in the street I probably wouldn't even notice them. Obviously there are levels, but you really have to make it big as a writer to attract that movie-level of fame.

That would make an interesting thought experiment. Sorry, my references are dated because I'm rapidly losing track of popular culture. Let's say it's 1990 and John Updike and Tony Danza are walking together down the street, say In Manhattan. Who do you think would get recognized the most frequently? If it's in Jackson Heights, Queens, or Harrison, NJ, Updike would go down more drastically than Danza would. In The Bronx, Updike would barely register at all but Danza would still be noticed by some. "It's that guy from Taxi!"

 

[Writer61]

As far as fame goes, I don't think being a popular author would be that bad. To be honest, if I passed some of my favourite authors in the street I probably wouldn't even notice them. Obviously there are levels, but you really have to make it big as a writer to attract that movie-level of fame.

I once had a chat about the weather with Arthur C Clarke, one of my favourite authors, but did not realise who I had been speaking to until afterwards.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

As far as fame goes, I don't think being a popular author would be that bad. To be honest, if I passed some of my favourite authors in the street I probably wouldn't even notice them. Obviously there are levels, but you really have to make it big as a writer to attract that movie-level of fame.

The only authors I'd likely recognize if I walked past them on the street are Stephen King and JK Rowling. (Sir Terry Pratchett as well, except the minor inconvenience of his demise).
To be honest I'd probably think, "that guy kind of looks like Stephen King".