How They Name Their Products

Anytime a corporation is trying to sell you something there are two forces at work. There’s the carefully managed perception they want you to believe:

And then there’s reality:

No, put down the phone, these kids are not up for sale. It’s just the best example I could think of to drive home my opening point. Okay, now that our primer is out of the way, let’s move on.

Perhaps lately you haven’t been feeling very upbeat. Things just don’t seem to be going well. Truth be told, you’re feeling down.

So you say “Okay, screw it, I’m getting myself a treat.” So you go down to that fast food restaurant where recently a customer set the place on fire when the cherry from his cigarette ignited the airborne grease. You look up at the menu board and see something new. It’s a “sandwich” with bacon and cheese enclosed by two pieces of what the company will claim is chicken right up until the day they settle out of court.

But it’s got a name that suggests vigor and excitement. Yes, the orange color of the chicken doesn’t seem right. And yes, something reminds you of that viral YouTube video that got a cook from this company fired. But this is new and exciting, so you fight off your trepidation. You get one and quickly wolf it down.

Walking back home, you’re gut is churning. You’re starting to sweat. You slow your pace and take a few deep breaths to prevent yourself from hurling.

You’ve now gone from feeling down to feeling double-down.

And that’s how the company came up with the name for their new Double-Down sandwich.