Subject:
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Re: 20 Years of TLC's Frustration with "LEGOS"
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general, lugnet.loc.us.tx
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Date:
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Fri, 30 Mar 2001 01:21:22 GMT
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Viewed:
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3650 times
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In lugnet.general, Matthew Miller writes:
> Kyle D. Jackson <flightdeck@sympatico.deletethisspamblock.ca> wrote:
>
> This is a misunderstanding. They didn't even consider that people might
> interpret the message as saying that "LEGO" without an 'S' is the correct
> plural. Instead, they're saying "LEGO", like all trademarks, is not a noun,
> it's an adjective. Please don't call our product itself "legos" (or by
> extension, "Lego"). Please call it "LEGO building blocks".
Ahhh, now I get it. So they must be really un-impressed then that
there's such a thing as LUGNET: "LEGO Users Group Network". This
then implies that we are all users of the LEGO company, as there
is no such thing as LEGO the product :] Should somebody inform
Todd and Suzanne?
> You can bet that if Ford had such a dominant marketshare that people
> started calling all cars "fords", they'd be making a big deal about how you
> should say "Ford automobiles" or "Ford cars" or "Ford trucks" instead.
Well, this example doesn't match watch you're saying LEGO meant in
their message. Now that I understand its intention correctly, the
parallel here would actually be if people called all products made by
Ford, "Fords", rather than "Ford cars", "Ford trucks", etc. Guess
what? Everybody already does this. Just like "Hondas", "Ferraris",
etc.
After a time there becomes a such long standing association with a
manufacturer's main product that the company name is synonymous with
it. However it doesn't tend to extend too well to off-main products.
For example, not many people call Kinex "LEGO" or "LEGOS". Not many
people would call jackets "Fords" if sold by Ford, either.
Ultimately I don't see any benefit to LEGO trying to get everyone to
call it "LEGO bricks" or whatever. If they brought out other products,
and have, then people will call them "LEGO ____" where "___" is the
product. For example "LEGO software", etc. But people will continue
to call the bricks "LEGO" (or "LEGOS"). Just like people will continue
to call the cars "Fords", while instead they would use "Ford can
openers" for that product.
Semantics suck :]
KDJ
_______________________________________
LUGNETer #203, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
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