Via WSJ:

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) on Wednesday unveiled the name of its planned pharmaceutical company spinoff, “AbbVie,” which Abbott says evokes its heritage and the Latin word for “life.”

Of course ‘Vie” is not the Latin word for “Life”, but hey it is only one letter off. Like “Dead” and “Deal”, or “Good” and “Goop”. What’s one letter? Everything — not to mention the crazy notion that Abbott believes we all speak Latin.

The Naming Agency of record on this one? None have dared to come forward.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Inside the AbbVie naming process:

Quick, what does “Mondelez” mean to you? Does it even infer anything? Conjure any imagery? No. Will you remember it five minutes from now? No, you won’t.

But you needn’t put Mondelez through any such tests to know how truly bad it is. The surest signal of a really bad name is when the company feels compelled to explain it.

Via USAToday:

The company says the name (pronounced mohn-dah-LEEZ) was inspired by the suggestions of two Kraft employees. It is intended to evoke the idea of a “delicious world” as “monde” is derived from the Latin word for “world” and “delez” as an expression of “delicious.”

Kraft is claiming the name has meaning. The difference between “Having a meaning” and “Being meaningful” makes all the difference.

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