"I'd walk a mile for a Camel": travelling as a Motif in Brand Names

Kurzfassung/Abstract

Brand names may be considered as minimal texts, because they do not simply identify a product, but also advertise it. For instance, the idea of travelling expressed in the above slogan is, so to speak, condensed in the name Camel, referring to an animal traditionally used for long, adventurous (and, in the last instance, lucrative) journeys in stunning, exotic landscapes. This mental imagery evoked by the cigarette name is so persuasive, because it addresses the fundamental human need for freedom and boundlessness.
The advertising strategy relying on the idea of travelling to foreign countries has always been rather strong in German brand names such as Humboldtmarke for colonial groceries or Curacao for a liqueur. In this paper, 318 such names registered from 1894 to 2014 are analysed according to their morphological structure, their source languages, and further associations in addition to travelling, such as power and beauty. Possible correlations between certain associations and specific foreign languages as well as diachronic developments are investigated.