Alliteration—check.
Brevity—check.
Memorability—check.
Appropriateness? Uh…
I can’t tell you what the owners of Tot Tank, a children’s store on Alameda’s Park Street, were thinking when they named their business. But I can share my own negative associations:
Tank (noun): Slang for jail cell.
Tank (noun): A large container for liquid or gas.
Tank (noun): An armored combat vehicle.
Tank (verb): To plummet; to suffer a sudden decline or failure.
Tank up (verb): To drink to the point of intoxication.
I had one additional association: “Shark Tank,” the ABC reality show in which entrepreneurs ask a panel of investors (“sharks”) for funding. I am a huge fan of this show and strongly recommend it to anyone starting a business or simply interested in how smart businesspeople think. But I wouldn’t want to think about hungry hammerheads when I’m shopping for onesies and bibs.
On the other hand, there’s that guppy-like Tot Tank logo. Maybe—maybe—we’re supposed to imagine the merchandise as colorful bait for babies.
Sorry. That’s not working for me either.
Bonus link: Read my post about the political use of “in the tank.”
And then there's the toilet tank ...
Posted by: Bob Cumbow | May 15, 2012 at 09:03 AM
... or the fish tank, which also doesn't work too happily vis-a-vis infants.
Posted by: Marta Randall | May 15, 2012 at 02:16 PM
think tank?...
Posted by: lily | May 15, 2012 at 03:18 PM
... and "tank top".
Posted by: Tom Goodwillie | May 16, 2012 at 05:19 AM
"Tot tank" makes me think of the cover of Nirvana's "Nevermind" album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevermind
Posted by: Jessica | May 16, 2012 at 08:42 AM