Recently I was asked to write a blurb for a new liquid plant-nutrient. As soon as I saw the name of the product, 早根早起 （Hayane Hayaoki), I smiled at this example of linguistic creativity. The four characters translate loosely as “early root, early sprouting“; but when spoken out loud, a native listener would recognize the phrase as the idiom equivalent to “early to bed, early to rise.” The clever substitution of the character 根 (ne, root) for 寝 (ne, sleep) gives the name of the product a completely different meaning when written out.
Will this original ネーミング (苍ē尘颈苍驳耻, naming) move gardeners to 財布のヒモを緩める (saifu no himo wo yurumeru, loosen their purse strings) and purchase the new product? It certainly can’t hurt. Japanese folk have a great appreciation for this kind of だじゃれっぽい (dajareppoi, punnish) word play, which — where products are concerned — demonstrates their 創造力 (蝉ō锄ō谤测辞办耻, creativity) and 商魂 (蝉丑ō办辞苍, entrepreneurial spirit).
One of the most successful examples of rebranding in recent memory was that of apparel manufacturer Renown’s men’s socks to 通勤快足 (Tsūkin Kaisoku, Business Express). The socks, made with a new type of fast-drying, antibacterial fabric that discouraged unpleasant odors, were originally put on sale in 1981 under the name “Fresh Life,” but sales were disappointing.
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