« Word of the Week: Doc-Buster | Main | Mr. Bra »

April 26, 2011

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Just as I've said in the past that brands should not include "vag," so should they not include "poo."

Unsurprising but still fun fact: When we performed "Shipoopi" in summer theater when I was 16, everyone called it "shit poop." As kids say today, duh.

Wow, truly horrible! Not an iota of professionalism is conveyed by either the name or the logo (which looks like it should belong to a poorly made children's toy).

This reminds me of the time when the holy priesthood that is the legal profession flipped out over Jacoby & Meyers began advertising on television. Quelle horreur! How would the profession ever survive? They were worried that it made the profession seem mercenary - they should've been more concerned about all the lawyer jokes. The truth is that those of us who are not lawyers think of them as whores and bloodsuckers, and anything that gets us talking about them as marketers focused on getting attention for the services they provide is an improvement.

The double-O in the middle and -le at the end suggest a pale and passé imitation of “Google”

...and the colours in the logo really reinforce that suggestion.

Thanks for the H/T. Now I can't get Shipoopi out of my head. Grrrr.

I gotta give the kid credit. It's a kind of achievement to create a word that simultaneously evokes feces, seminal fluid, cave exploration and multiple Yiddish obscenities. And it still finds time to be unpronounceable!

Neologism, indeed.

It reminds me of a different song. An appropriately silly one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktvjbv7wq34

And as Q. Pheevr says, the logo is like a cheap Google knock-off.

The name is phonotactically infelicitous: tense vowels don't go before engma (the "ng" sound) in English. Words like "boong" (with the vowel of "boo") or "fonk" (with the vowel of "foe") aren't possible English words, at least not in this era. So "shpoonkle" would have to be pronounced "shpoon-kle," which isn't too good either, with its syllabic /l/ having to share a syllable with the [k].

Agree that this name is an unintelligent Google knockoff. Also must note the TV version of The Music Man's Shipoopi song was painful. Victor Garber looked as uncomfortable participating in that scene as I felt watching it. Nancy, contrary to what you write here, I think there is ample evidence that Shpoonkle founder Robert G. Niznik actually is a dummy.

@Neal: Thanks for your insights! Phonotactic infelicity has not stopped many entrepreneurs who name their own companies: I've written in the past about Thoof, Blellow, and Xobni, among others. One of the many reasons to work with a a professional name developer is to avoid such pitfalls; the goal is not just distinctiveness but also pronounceability.

I'm with Jessica: every syllable says scat porn: sh-, poo-, -inkle...

All I know is that I have said "Shpoonkle" three hundred times already today, and it's only 8:49 am. It's my new Episco-Yiddish term of endearment for my husband, my kids, and my dog. As in, "Shpoonkeluh, come give Mommy a hug before you leave!"

The comments to this entry are closed.

My Web Site

Pinterest

  • Pinterest
    Follow Me on Pinterest
My Photo

Your email address:


Powered by FeedBlitz

Bookmark and Share

Categories