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PoliciesDon’t settle for a re-bland
About time ‘Coon Cheese’ had a new name. Time to judge the success of its successor, copywriter-style, to see if it really makes a statement.
This week, we find out how words can be used to really make a statement. Does a brand name cut the mustard? Do words give us feelings? It’s all here.
Miriam Jeffery
Creative
Craft and creativity
4 minute read
‘Coon Cheese’ is just your average household name. But it’s also irredeemably racist, and therefore hugely disruptive to brand experience. I’m not sure many marketers would want customers to walk down the supermarket aisle, see the cheese and think 'Yum! A racial slur. Just what I need on my toastie!'.
At long last, Saputo Dairy listened to consumers and changed in response. A brilliant outcome. But what was to take its place? *Drumroll*… Cheer Cheese.
At long last, Saputo Dairy listened to consumers and changed in response. A brilliant outcome. But what was to take its place? *Drumroll*… Cheer Cheese.
In short
- Branding should stand for something consumers truly want to believe in.
- At the least, names should evoke feeling, spark recognition, and sound good.
- Use the power of a brand name to take a stand. Don’t waste the opportunity with something mediocre and forgettable.
What’s in a name?
A name, if chosen well, does three things:
It’s tricky to get all three elements right, but hugely important for a strong brand. How well does ‘Cheer Cheese’ manage it? Let’s put it to the taste test.
- Evokes a certain feeling;
- Sparks instant recognition;
- Uses words that sound good together.
It’s tricky to get all three elements right, but hugely important for a strong brand. How well does ‘Cheer Cheese’ manage it? Let’s put it to the taste test.
1. Does it evoke feeling?
Saputo wants their cheese to inspire 'that extra little bit of happiness'1, so they stamped ‘Cheer’ right on the packet. On the surface, this little abstract noun ticks all the boxes:
But… meh. It falls flat when you judge it by these two rules of meaning:
Verdict: Kinda inspiring, but mostly insipid.
- It’s warm and welcoming.
- It ties in with the rustic, wholesome attributes of cheese.
- It implies inclusivity; something the brand is eager to project right now.
But… meh. It falls flat when you judge it by these two rules of meaning:
- Show, don’t tell. A really blatant word choice doesn’t cut it. You have to invest the meaning through the whole brand experience. Especially the packaging!
- Don’t punch above your weight. It’s 500 grams of pre-sliced cheddar, not a life coach. Be realistic about the place your product holds in your customer’s life, and speak to that truth in your branding. Otherwise you’ll just seem out of touch.
Verdict: Kinda inspiring, but mostly insipid.
“If words were food, it would be the bland cracker – not the bitey vintage.”
2. Does it spark recognition?
Saputo has a big job ahead of them, here. An iconic, historic brand needs a bold new name to do it justice. Something that’s quintessentially Aussie and unmistakeably, erm, cheesy.
What it cannot do is sound like an Aldi knock-off. Oh. Oops.
What it cannot do is sound like an Aldi knock-off. Oh. Oops.
3. Does it sound good?
I know what they were trying to do. Alliteration makes a phrase roll off the tongue so one word sounds incomplete without the other. Think of ‘Krispy Kreme’. Such a neat little parcel of sounds!
‘Cheer Cheese’ tries to do a similar thing, but seems to fall short. Now bear with me – I’m gonna geek out on a few key elements of pronunciation to find out why:
Verdict: Sounds a bit like ‘jeer, geez’.
‘Cheer Cheese’ tries to do a similar thing, but seems to fall short. Now bear with me – I’m gonna geek out on a few key elements of pronunciation to find out why:
| Krispy Kreme | Cheer Cheese | |
| Consonants | That literally crisp ‘k’ sound at the start. Noice. | Two ‘ch’ sounds drag on the pronunciation. Closed ‘rrr’ and ‘zzz’ sounds constrain the mouth. |
| Vowels | Overall, open vowel sounds make it pleasant to hear and easy to say. The ‘y’ in ‘Krispy’ matches the ‘e’ in ‘Kreme’. |
The ‘ee’ in ‘Cheer’ isn’t the same sound as ‘ee in ‘cheese’. They’re neither opposite nor similar enough, so they end up sounding… slightly off. |
| Syllables | Kris-py Kreme The unstressed ‘y’ at the end of ‘Krispy’ launches us bouncily into the new word. |
Cheer Cheese Two single-syllable words with equal stressing? Abrupt. |
| Krispy Kreme | |
| Consonants | That literally crisp ‘k’ sound at the start. Noice. |
| Vowels | Overall, open vowel sounds make it pleasant to hear and easy to say. The ‘y’ in ‘Krispy’ matches the ‘e’ in ‘Kreme’. |
| Syllables | Kris-py Kreme The unstressed ‘y’ at the end of ‘Krispy’ launches us bouncily into the new word. |
Cheer Cheese |
|
| Consonants | Two ‘ch’ sounds drag on the pronunciation. Closed ‘rrr’ and ‘zzz’ sounds constrain the mouth. |
| Vowels | The ‘ee’ in ‘Cheer’ isn’t the same sound as ‘ee in ‘cheese’. They’re neither opposite nor similar enough, so they end up sounding… slightly off. |
| Syllables | Cheer Cheese Two single-syllable words with equal stressing? Abrupt. |
Verdict: Sounds a bit like ‘jeer, geez’.
A welcome change, but an unwelcome replacement
In all, it’s no suprise that I think this name change has been disappointing.
Why? There’s a huge disconnect between the brand experience and the connotations of ‘Cheer’. But more importantly, Saputo meekly revised their history, without taking a real stand against the endemic social issue they themselves were part of. It’s like they’ve tried so hard to be inclusive, they’ve played it safe and buried the message in a nebulous, neutral word choice. If words were food, it would be the bland cracker – not the bitey vintage.
So when you really want to make a statement, be bold about it! Invest your meaning throughout the brand experience, and use words to their full potential. Then your brand might stand for something consumers truly want to believe in.
Why? There’s a huge disconnect between the brand experience and the connotations of ‘Cheer’. But more importantly, Saputo meekly revised their history, without taking a real stand against the endemic social issue they themselves were part of. It’s like they’ve tried so hard to be inclusive, they’ve played it safe and buried the message in a nebulous, neutral word choice. If words were food, it would be the bland cracker – not the bitey vintage.
So when you really want to make a statement, be bold about it! Invest your meaning throughout the brand experience, and use words to their full potential. Then your brand might stand for something consumers truly want to believe in.
Phonaesthetics
Customers make instinctive associations between the way a brand or product name sounds and how it makes them feel – features like open vowels or clustered consonants can be powerful. As John O'Shaughnessy put it, "Lamolay sounds better than Tarytak for a toilet paper even though it has the same number of letters."2
To demonstrate this, we echoed a famous experiment called the ‘bouba-kiki’ effect.3 We got a group of people to sketch a simple shape to match the word ‘morybar’, and another to match ‘chakupit’. Here are the results:
To demonstrate this, we echoed a famous experiment called the ‘bouba-kiki’ effect.3 We got a group of people to sketch a simple shape to match the word ‘morybar’, and another to match ‘chakupit’. Here are the results:
on name games
Naming contests can be a great tool for customer engagement – but be wary of giving the public too much power. That’s how you end up with ‘Boaty McBoatface’. To avoid mishaps, create a shortlist of entries before allowing votes and be prepared to veto for the greater good (like NASA overruling ‘Colbert’).
Notice how most of these feature rounded edges and oval forms? That’s the soft ‘m’, ‘o’ and ‘r’ sounds and the flattened ‘a’ in the word taking shape.
Most of these feature spiky, angular elements. That’s the harsh ‘ch’, ‘k’, and ‘t’ sounds plus the open ‘a’ vowel’ and strident ‘i’ making their presence seen, not just heard.
References
- Saputo Dairy Australia, Introducing CHEER™ Cheese: A new name for Australia's much-loved cheese (13 January 2021) Saputo Dairy Australia.
- John O'Shaughnessy, Consumer Behaviour: Perspectives, Findings and Explanations (2013) Palgrave Macmillan.
- Pete Etchels, The bouba/kiki effect: how do we link shapes to sounds? (17 October 2016) The Guardian.
