This is a very fascinating phenomena. Many times for a particular product or service, a brand which is providing it, gets its name associated with it, and that product is recognized by the brand name itself. There are quite a few examples of this in India.Here are a few I know.
1) Mineral Water:- Packaged drinking water or mineral water. The brand name BISLERY is so popular in India, that 90% of the people refer mineral water as BISLERI. If you were to go to a store to buy some bottled water on a hot day, you would ask for a BISLERI.
2) Photocopyer:- All over the world making copies of your important documents is called photocopying. But in India you call it xeroxing your documents. This is probably because Xerox copyer machines were fist to come in India, and became very popular subsequently.
3) Chocalate Bars:- This is probably because untill recently only Cadbury chocalates were available. Elsewhere it would be called, perhaps a chocalate bar, but in India we just call them just CADBURY.
I have also been told that in villages people refer to toothpastes as COLGATE.
I am sure there are several more such examples. If you know do tell me!
yeah true even I go and ask for bislery and not mineral water :P
ReplyDeletev.g. observation!
ReplyDeletei think it is a compliment to these brands for making their brand so visible in their respective categories.
ReplyDeleteNice obs. There are many examples.
ReplyDeleteXerox ,Zipper comman examples.
i think i may have got a couple more. but they are not as good as bisleri and xerox.
ReplyDeletegood knight for mosquito repellent,
kachwa chap for the repellent coils. (second one is more iffy)
awesome observation Prathik...
ReplyDeleteand that was a funny post....some of them i rmbr doing too...
i have asked for bisleri and been given aquafina
ReplyDelete@roodge, but u did get mineral water in the end, didnt ya???
ReplyDeleteohhh another one...any form of glucose biscuits.. Parle G.
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteyes, i had infact thought of it too!!!
parle-g for glucose biscuits!!!
also how about AMUL for packaged butter, and RASNA for ready-tomake serbat.
I thought of some more...ignore the geographic context on some of them though.
ReplyDeleteSearch engine : Google
Mobile phone : Nokia (esp initially in india)
Burgers: McDonalds
Washing powder : Nirma
Bleach : Rin
Bleach : Clorox (US)
Washing Machines: BPL
Cars: Maruti ( for a very long time...not that true anymore)
Milk : Chitale (esp Pune)
Awesome sweets : Chitale Bandhu (Pune)
Auction : Ebay
Phone : Skype
Listings : craigslist
hmmm...cant think of more right now.
I must say i did thnk a lot of the ones one your list, but didnt find them as good bisleri.
ReplyDeletebut i must say i did think a lot of them :)
...like
chitale(but for milk in pune)
cars(maruti)
washing powder(nirma)
but I think GOOGLE is yet another awesome example.
One more thing to include is
ReplyDeleteOlder people still refer softdrink as GoldSpot.....
Older in the sense Elder people...
ReplyDeleteNice discussion is goin one here :)
ReplyDelete~preeti
Hey thanx for applauding my article on parsis.. !!
ReplyDeletebut ur article on bisleri deserves more appreciation ...
good work !!
Russian language has the noun "karandash" for a pencil from the brand name of some European manufacturer.
ReplyDelete