June 25, 2009
Word Factoid: “Raccoon”
Our ring-tailed friend is a native American, but he can be found in Europe and Japan, where he was introduced in the mid-20th century.
The American English word “raccoon” dates to 1608 and comes from the Algonquian dialect known as Powhatan, which was spoken by the tribe of the same name living in eastern Virginia.
The Powhatan [...]
June 15, 2009
Profile: Steven Addis
The Brand Recharger
By Eleftheria Parpis, Adweek
Steven Addis, CEO of Addis Creson, doesn’t put much stock in titles or disciplinary designations. “Are we an agency or a branding firm? I don’t really care,” he says
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June 5, 2009
The Great Brand Name Risk
On day one, the meaning of a new brand name can be found in the dictionary (assuming it’s a real word). For a fleeting moment, “Amazon” was a river, “Apple” was a fruit, and “Kindle” conjured fuel for fire. But if early, literal meanings remain over time, the managers of the brands fail. That’s right, they fail.
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May 29, 2009
Addis Creson creates a new name and packaging for the new brand Somersaults Snack Co.
One of our favorite companies, Somersaults Snack Co., is introducing its first line of products, Somersaults. We’re especially pleased to show off this new snack because not only did we name the company and the product, but we designed the packaging. This packaging epitomizes the Somersaults brand - unexpected and playful.
May 28, 2009
Word Factiod “Celadon”
It’s a shade of green, but where does the word come from?
Around 1610, a french marquis by the name of Honoré d’urfé wrote a
pastoral romance entitled “Astrée,” whose main characters
were Celadon and Astrée. Modern critics believe the story is an
account of King Henry IV’s womanizing. Celadon (the character)
wore bright green clothes, and his name [...]
May 20, 2009
Word Factoid: “Hack”
The word has numerous meanings:
The computer was hacked.
I can’t hack it anymore.
They hacked their way through the undergrowth.
She hacked and coughed all night.
He’s a total hack.
But let’s talk about the noun. Its contemporary usage dates to 1700, when it meant “person hired to do routine work.” it’s short for “hackney,” or “an ordinary horse.”
And that’s [...]
May 14, 2009
Word Factoid: “Bogus”
“Bogus”
The word as we know it first appeared in American English in 1838.
It is the adjectival form of Bogus, the proper name of a machine invented in 1827 for making counterfeit money. the fake currency was probably referred to as “bogus” with a lowercase “b”.
“Bogus” as a noun can also be traced to tantrabobus, [...]
May 8, 2009
On Advertising
Great ads have one thing in common. They sell things. Things like products, services, ideas, or lifestyles. If they don’t do this directly, they are memorable enough to influence a consumer at the time he or she makes a purchase.
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May 7, 2009
Happy Cinco de Mayo
May 5, 2009
Word Factoid: “Flu”
The 3-letter word as we know it dates to 1839 and is a shortening of influenza.
The word influenza was first used to describe “the flu” during a 1743 outbreak of the disease across Europe. Influenza comes from Italian; it originally referred to the cause of the disease, not the specific disease itself. So one could [...]