What's in a name?
Maybe not as much as you would think.
It is interesting to see how some smaller companies link their products to larger companies. It can be hard to get “brand” recognition so you may “share” another company’s reputation. A new company may have trouble thinking of an original name or logo or its name may have different a meaning in another language.
Sometimes it may be tongue-in-check humour or it could be a complete rip-off.
In any case, I doubt that few people are fooled by the examples I show below.
When I saw this little red, three-wheel car in Changchun, I noticed its emblem.
It is Ferrari’s prancing horse. However, the horse on this car is facing right, not left and the colour is different.
Here is a “Ferrari” electric scooter. The Ferrari name isn’t used (SR Racing) but the emblem is perfect. It screems Ferrari and speed.
I guess that this is suppose to be a very fast courier ebike.
Chrysler has a famous “hemi” high performance V8 automobile engine. This Chinese “Hemei” is a three-wheel electric car. (They added just one letter to the name.)
General Motors has the GMC pickup truck. The JMC Yuhu (江铃域虎) is a mid-size pickup truck produced by Jiangling Motors. This truck, that I photographed in Jinzhou looks like a well built vehicle.
Who knows? One day JMC may become a bigger brand than GMC.
Chery is a popular Chinese automobile manufacturer. Its name has just one letter that is different from Chevy.
Chery’s logo is very similar to Nissan’s Infiniti logo.
At first glance, this electric scooter that I saw on a Dandong sidewalk did not seem interesting. Then I noticed that it is a “HDMDA MOTO” which looks very close to the more famous name Honda.
See how close they are:
HDMDA
HONDA
This small red motorcycle in Changchun was rather unremarkable except for its hood ornament. It is a “jumping Jaguar” which is the hood ornament used by Britian’s luxury Jaguar automobles.
This “Number 1” convenience store that I saw in downtown Dandong sure looks a lot like a 7-Eleven doesn’t it?
The 7-Eleven China company has 1,882 stores which makes it the tenth largest convenience store chain in China.
Dairy Fairy appeals to me far more than the far larger Dairy Queen chain.
When I saw this Orient Home big-box store in Changchun, I was sure I was in a Chinese Home Depot. It was so similar.
Even the inside looked so similar to a Home Depot that you would see in Canada.
However, it wasn’t affilated with Home Depot. The Chinese market is so competitive that Home Depot cut its losses and pulled out of the country.
How about this. A California Holiday Inn in Changchun, Jilin province.
The logo looks more like Starbuck’s than the Holiday Inn logo.
Other countries
Copying other company’s names and logos is not limited to China.
This Chicken King is such a rip-off that I am surprised that it is allowed to stay open. It is a small chicken chain in Britian. Check out the logo.
Compared to the British copycat, this restaurant in Boreo is quite tame.
This Korean chicken restaurant in Thornhill (north of Toronto) sells “Korean Fried Chicken”. The red letters are a play on KFC.