By Stephanie MacLellan
In an age when lustful, half-naked models splashed across downtown bus stops can’t even draw a second glance, some companies have found a new way to shock people into paying attention: placing their ads on human beings.
This summer, Dunlop Tire presented the Dunlop Name Swap. The company sent letters to 500 Canadians who shared last names with competing tire companies, like Bridgestone and Goodyear, inviting them to legally change their last name to Dunlop for a share of a $25,000 prize.
This August, Jackson, Brian, Bradley and Janice Goodyear became Jackson, Brian, Bradley and Janice Dunlop. They each received $6,250, plus the costs of changing their name.
Dunlop started the name swap campaign after a survey from Decima Research showed 42 per cent of Canadians polled thought individuals taking on brand names would become a new form of corporate marketing, while 37 per cent said they would change their name if paid well. Since then, other companies have launched similar campaigns.
But the idea might be slow to catch on. I spent an afternoon calling randomly selected Ottawa residents with corporate last names, and no one said they’d trade their name for money.
“Not until hell freezes over,” said Ron Molson, when I asked if he’d consider changing his last name to Labatt. “It’s part of the family history.”
A different Molson was less enthusiastic.
“For heaven’s sake, don’t be ridiculous!” she exclaimed before hanging up the phone.
Geoff Chrysler said he would never become Geoff Ford, while Allen Ford said changing his last name to Chrysler wouldn’t be worth the problems it would cause.
“I’m 45 years old and I have a family,” he said. “I think it’s silly. It wouldn’t entice me to buy a product, or make me more aware of it.”
David Harvey also cited family reasons for not wanting to change his name to McDonald. “I don’t think my parents would appreciate it very much,” he said. “There’s plenty of other ways to advertise.”
Harvey’s right. The problem is that in a society so desensitized to traditional forms of advertising, marketers have had to find new ways to get people’s attention.
When branding a building won’t make consumers think twice, branding a human being is a logical – if disturbing – next step.
A Molson by any other name would still be the same person. But a person’s surname is a symbol of their heritage, their family and their identity. To treat someone’s name like a corporate gimmick is to trivialize the sense of identity a name carries with it.
It’s time for advertisers to look for more creative ways to reach the public than finding people who want to trade their name for a company’s. Witty ad writers are a dime a dozen, but names are personal.