History Main / BrandNameTakeover

* Sellotape (clear adhesive tape): Used in the UK, as well as in many former UK territories.

* Nescafe: In some countries--particularly the Middle East--for instant coffee.

[[OlderThanTheyThink Believe it or not]], this trope is OlderThanRadio. Known as a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genericized_trademark "genericized trademark"]] on [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]]. If recognized by governments, this can fall into GoneHorriblyRight, as the term becomes so popular that it can often no longer be trademarked after falling into a language's lexicon. It's generally called the "Kleenex Effect" in ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autological_word nicely]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche self-demonstrating]]) marketing jargon. See also IAmNotShazam.

* Print Club (photo booth first made for Japan by Creator/{{Atlus}} and Creator/{{Sega}}, according to [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]], known as "Purikura" for short)

* Accu-Chek (blood glucose monitor): The first brand of home blood glucose monitors for diabetics. Now there are monitors produced by other manufacturers, but regardless of the brand used in a particular hospital, that hospital's doctors will write orders to test the patient's "accucheck".

* Baygon (insecticide): Formerly Bayer trademark, now owned by SC Johnson. Especially in places where Raid isn't as popular.

* Binky (baby pacifiers): "Binky" originated in the [=1930s=] as a trademarked brand name for pacifiers and other baby products from the Binky Baby Products Company, and is now a trademark owned by Playtex Products. It is frequently used as a generic term for pacifiers.

** And Mack-Tack in Canada after a now-defunct brand
* Breathalyzer (A device used to measure blood alcohol content by analyzing exhaled breath): Originally trademarked by Smith & Wesson, now owned by National Draeger. Most people aren't even aware that this is actually a brand name.

* Canola (rapeseed oil with low erucic acid content) was originally a trademark of the Rapeseed Association of Canada; the name stands for "'''Can'''adian '''o'''il, '''l'''ow '''a'''cid". The name is now used by many brands who produce that kind of oil, even if they don't produce it in Canada, because they don't want to turn off customers with the unfortunate sounding "rapeseed oil".

* Ceefax (teletext service): In the UK, "Ceefax" was the name of the teletext service from Creator/TheBBC, but widely (and incorrectly) used to refer to teletext services provided by other broadcasters as well. Now obsolete.

* Chyron: The Chyron Corporation (now called [=ChyronHego=]) became the dominant maker of graphics generators for American television broadcasting in TheEighties, which led "chyron" to become a generic name for typed text used in newscasts, even those made with machines from different companies. At some point it leaked into general usage. Political junkies and pundits love using the word when discussing the provocative wording in cable news graphics, but it's something of a case of CommonKnowledge, since actual TV production staffers tend to use generic terms like "banner", "super", "font", "lower third" or even just "graphic".

* "Fun size" chocolate bars. A registered trademark of Mars, but well on its way to becoming genericized. For now, non-Mars products use equivalents such as "treat size" on their packaging, but it's surely only a matter of time.

** Jeep could be considered an inversion. The original jeep was a term for a category of vehicle (not brand or manufacturer specific) in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, although the origin of the term is disputed. Also played with in that while officially Jeep is the name of a car manufacturer owned by Chrysler (now Fiat-Chrysler) specializing in [=SUVs=] and Crossovers, and thus everything they make is a 'Jeep', colloquially in the United States, 'Jeep' only refers to civilian versions of the original UsefulNotes/WorldWarII light utility vehicle.[[note]]More specifically, the manufacturer's original name was Overland Automotive, then Willys-Overland Motors, then Willys Motor Company, then to Kaiser-Jeep when the company was no longer building anything but Jeeps. Kaiser then sold Jeep to AMC, which was eventually bought by Chrysler.[[/note]]

** It must be jelly, 'cause jam don't shake like that.

** Kuka first only referred to the wheeled bins, but now it's used for any size from office paper bins to giant garbage containers, to the Recycle Bin of some early Windows OS-es.[[note]]Now it's called ''Lomtár'' (Junk storage), a word that almost exclusively refers to the Windows feature.[[/note]]

* [[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppet]]: Both the Creator/JimHenson Company and more recently Creator/{{Disney}} have fought against the word being used for any felt-and-foam hand puppet (or any vaguely similar puppet design), but with only partial success. Henson now carefully ''doesn't'' call its own characters Muppets, but as early as 1961 [[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93475992/the-muppet-mutiny-part-2/ a newspaper article]] was referring to the characters on ''Captain Jim's Popeye Club'' and ''The Creator/ShariLewis Show'' as small-m muppets. This very Wiki uses {{Muppet}} to mean "A character in a live-action series rendered by puppetry or animatronics".

* In Korea and Japan, mechanical pencils are commonly known as "Sharp pencils." Not because they have keen tips, but because they were popularized there by the Sharp company, now known for making electronics.

* [=TelePrompTer=] (device adjacent to a TV camera with a printed script, to assist performers, hosts, politicians, etc. during live broadcasts): the [=TelePrompTer=] Corporation (which, oddly enough, owned Creator/{{Filmation}} at one point) officially dissolved in 1982, so the word is now supposed to be written as "teleprompter" minus capitalization, though some autocorrect tools have persisted in keeping the capitals.
* This one might seem bizarre, but Telemóvel for cell phones is this in Portugal. Originally it was used to name the ''service'' - by the "Serviço Telemóvel" ("cell phone service") consortium and by its sucessor, the [=TMN=] company[[note]]now absorved by [=MEO=][[/note]] which used "Serviço Telemóvel" as its slogan during its very first years. After a while the word became commonly spoken to name the ''equipment'' used for the service, but as late as the mid-2000s the expression "P[[note]]as in, Portugal[[/note]] Telemóvel" was used to name the carrier on [=TMN=]'s cell phones instead of the more usual "P [=TMN=]".

** Also gaining popularity in Malaysia because a company with a similar name is now distributing porta-potties in the country (also, the name is catchy, and it has a cute little devil as its mascot).

* Touch-Tone ("dual-tone multi-frequency signaling"): Now that rotary-dial phones are deader than dodos, this term has fallen out of use.

* Trojan (condom) in the US.[[note]]Why anyone would name a condom brand after a people infamous for ''letting in something they shouldn't'' and suffering harshly for it is a riddle for the ages.[[/note]] Also the brand name of detergent in Malaysia, but has since fallen out of use- now it's "Dynamo". In Europe and Malaysia at least, the brand "Durex" is the analogous word for condoms instead.

* Victrola (phonograph): A trademark of the Victor Talking Machine Company (later absorbed into [[Creator/RCARecords RCA Victor]]). Something of a generic term for a phonograph record player in the early 20th century, but this use faded over time, and now people just call them "turntables" or "record players". (That is, when they're not asking, "WhatAreRecords") Outside the English language, "Victrola" is still understood as a record player.

* Vinyl: originally refering to Polyvinyl chloride (a.k.a. PVC), it now refers to vinyl records (a.k.a. gramophone or phonograph records), predominantly made of PVC after the 1950s.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels, most notably ''Literature/{{Thud}}'', the Sonky Rubber Goods Company's early pioneering in the world of contraceptives has resulted in condoms of any manufacture being referred to as "a packet of sonkies".

** And "Liquid Paper" in Australia, Brazil and parts of South-East Asia.

** (Condoms): in Europe

* Trojan (condom) in the US.[[note]]Why anyone would name a condom brand after a people infamous for ''letting in something they shouldn't'' and suffering harshly for it is a riddle for the ages.[[/note]] Also the brand name of detergent in Malaysia, but has since fallen out of use- now it's "Dynamo". In Malaysia at least, the brand "Durex" took over the word for condoms instead.

* Trojan (condom) in the US. Also the brand name of detergent in Malaysia, but has since fallen out of use- now it's "Dynamo". In Malaysia at least, the brand "Durex" took over the word for condoms instead.

* Doliprane (paracetamol, a pain reliever): in France

A Brand Name Takeover occurs whenever a UsefulNotes/{{trademark}} or brand name has become the colloquial or generic description for a specific type of product, rather than just the specific product created by the original trademark holder. This typically happens when the product in question has become so dominant in the market that the brand is the first thing people think about when they think of the ''type'' of product the brand represents. Additionally, if you look at the lists below, it is most common in instances where the trademarked product is the first of its kind - thus (especially if it was also patented thus meaning the new product was the ''only'' one of its kind) it often was the only name the public knew for this new widget. Famous examples include the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermos Thermos]], the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator Escalator]], the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathalyzer Breathalyzer]], and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shredded_wheat Shredded Wheat]].

[[OlderThanTheyThink Believe it or not]], this trope is OlderThanRadio. Known as a "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genericized_trademark genericized trademark]]" on [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]]. If recognized by governments, this can fall into GoneHorriblyRight, as the term becomes so popular that it can often no longer be trademarked after falling into a language's lexicon. It's generally called the "Kleenex Effect" in ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autological_word nicely]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche self-demonstrating]]) marketing jargon. See also IAmNotShazam.

* Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid): the Bayer company lost the trademark in most Allied nations shortly after World War I as part of war reparations, but holds it in [[http://www.aspirin.de/ Germany]], [[http://www.aspirin.ca/ Canada]] and Mexico, among others. In the UK, up until quite recently, aspirin tablets were commonly called ''Anadins'' after the earliest brandname for them.

* Bimbo bread (white bread and/or whole wheat bread in Mexico): Due to the bakery that has a decades-long monopoly over white/whole wheat bread in Mexico. The brand is used for all bread products so it hasn't lost its trademark protection, but "pan bimbo" is generically used to refer to that kind of bread even if it isn't Bimbo-brand bread[[note]]The only real competition in Mexico is Wonder. But Bimbo owns the Wonder trademark in Mexico, so even if it's "Wonder bread" it can be argued that it's still "Bimbo" bread.[[/note]].

** In Brazil some use for beer a brand [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AB_InBev_brands that's currently sister to Budweiser]], Brahma.

* Mace (personal pepper spray dispenser)

* Zamboni (ice resurfacing machines) This got so far that when American Speedskater KC Boutiette saw a Dutch "natural" ice-rink use tractors to resurface their ice he called them Zambonis. This is parodied in ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'' with the [[{{Pun}} Zomboni]] enemy--its FlavorText is "Not to be mistaken for a Zamboni® brand ice resurfacing machine. Zamboni® and the image of the ice-resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc., and "Zomboni" is used with permission. For all your non-zombie related ice resurfacing needs, visit www.zamboni.com!" This is simultaneously both whimsical and serious, as "Zamboni" ''is'' a trademark of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc.

* Zamboni (ice resurfacing machines) This got so far that when American Speedskater KC Boutiette saw a Dutch "natural" ice-rink use tractors to resurface their ice he called them Zambonis. This is parodied in ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'' with the [[{{Pun}} Zomboni]] enemy--its FlavorText is "Not to be mistaken for a Zamboni® brand ice resurfacing machine. Zamboni® and the image of the ice-resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc., and "Zomboni" is used with permission. For all your non-zombie related ice resurfacing needs, visit www.zamboni.com!" This is simultaneously both whimsical and serious, as "Zamboni" ''is'' a trademark of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc..

* Zamboni (ice resurfacing machines) This got so far that when American Speedskater KC Boutiette saw a Dutch "natural" ice-rink use tractors to resurface their ice he called them Zambonis. This is parodied in ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies''. There is an enemy called a "[[{{Pun}} Zomboni]]". The FlavorText for the enemy is "Zamboni is a trademark Frank J. Zamboni & Company. Used with permission." This is simultaneously both whimsical and serious, as "Zamboni" ''is'' a trademark of Frank J. Zamboni & Company.

* [=TelePrompTer=] (video device for giving actors, actresses, tv hosts, etc. their cues; nowadays simply written as "teleprompter") Fun fact: [=TelePrompTer=] owned Creator/{{Filmation}} at one point.

--->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' I know! Small plastic disc... [[RecycledInSPACE that you TOSS!]]

* Primus: In Finland, a portable gas cooker

* [[http://www.centralcasting.com Central Casting]] was formed in 1925 by a coalition of Hollywood studios [[GhostExtras to provide a reliable source of background actors]] for productions (in exchange, CC provided a reliable source of jobs for said actors). They later expanded to provide actors with a certain "look" or skill set, and today the phrase "straight out of central casting" refers to someone [[HollywoodDressCode with an appropriately stereotypical appearance]] (a [[MightyLumberjack lumberjack]] with a full beard and wearing a flannel shirt and blue jeans, for example).

* [=AK-47=] (Kalashnikov/AK family rifles): Usually when someone refers to an [=AK-47=], they don't mean the very first version of this family of firearm, because there are a lot of variations.

* [[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppet]]: Both the Creator/JimHenson Company and more recently Creator/{{Disney}} have fought against the word being used for any felt-and-foam hand puppet (or any vaguely similar puppet design), but with only partial success. Henson now carefully ''doesn't'' call its own characters Muppets, but as early as 1961 [[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93475992/the-muppet-mutiny-part-2/ a newspaper article]] was referring to the characters on ''Captain Jim's Popeye Club'' and ''Series/LambChopsPlayAlong'' as small-m muppets. This very Wiki uses {{Muppet}} to mean "A character in a live-action series rendered by puppetry or animatronics".

* iPlayer (online video-on-demand service): in the UK. This is Creator/TheBBC's video-on-demand service, but many people mistakenly use it as a generic name for similar services from other broadcasters such as ITV Player, UKTV Play and Channel 4's All 4.

* Corn Flakes: Used to be a trademark of the Kellogg corporation. Sucrilhos is Kellogg's name for corn flakes in Brazil.

* Pocket Books: Mass-market paperback books.
* Polaroid: instant photographs

* [=AK-47=] (Kalashnikov/AK family rifles): Usually when someone refers to an [=AK-47=], they don't mean the very frist version of this family of firearm, because there are a lot of variations.

* VideoGame/{{Tamagotchi}} for [[VirtualPet virtual pets.]]

* Mobage (network hosting and distributing {{Mobile Phone Game}}s): In Japan, but catching on with the rest of the world; became more associated with the games on the service than the service itself due to the popularity of the genre in Japan.

* Muzak (a music distribution system): Most often used to refer to TheElevatorFromIpanema-styled
bossa nova covers of popular songs and smooth jazz music played over these systems rather than the system itself, with an occasionally positive or negative connotation.

* Muzak (a music distribution system): Most often used to refer to TheElevatorFromIpanema-styled covers of popular songs and the offensively inoffensive wishes-it-was-jazz music played over these systems rather than the system itself. (The latter genre of music is usually called "smooth jazz", while the former is generally done in bossa nova.)