Bad Naming Convention…

by Nika on Jan.30, 2010, under technology

The other day over dinner a young man at my table made a comment about the iPad. Upon hearing the word “iPad”, another guest, a young woman aged 17, dropped her voice to a whisper and asked, “an i what“?

By the expression of horror and embarrassment on her face, I knew exactly what she was thinking upon hearing the term “iPad” …. feminine pads! Talk about giving truth to the rumours and jokes!

That’s some really bad marketing, Apple.

One of the major rules of naming conventions is to “create and fulfill expectation” with the product. My expectation when I hear the name “iPad”?

Feminine hygiene.

iPad … feel your freshest…
iPad … for that time of the month…

not the actual:
iPad … a magical and revolutionary device

Err… okay I that could actually apply to both.

Am I offended by the name? Absolutely not. The company can call it whatever they like. It’s their product. Am I confused that the marketing department didn’t pick up on the alternate interpretation of the name?

Oh hell yeah.

- Nika

:iPad

3 Comments for this entry

Christa
January 31st, 2010 on 3:01 am
it’s the first thing I thought too!

iPad … conveniently sized for travel…

ROFL
not very well thought out at all. And even as a Mac user, I’m getting a bit tired of all the iNames. It’s getting a bit stale.
Nika
February 1st, 2010 on 9:08 am
At first I thought it was just a ‘female’ perception, but a bunch of guys I know said they thought the same thing. Glad to see it’s not just me!
Adam Korengold
February 16th, 2010 on 8:51 am
Nika, this may have been in the dark recesses of my mind as well–but you are very perceptive here. It’s not quite as bad as the Chevy “no va” problem, but you’d think that a company as good at marketing as Apple is would have thought of this. Or, perhaps people who are willing to shell out US$750 for something like this don’t have their minds in the gutter as much as one would fear…