Daily #1: Mild Evolution I & You Seven

In this Japanese News “daily” we take a look at Japan Tobacco’s new branding attempt: changing Mild Seven to Mevius. They’re hoping it’ll help them to expand overseas (the Japanese are smoking less and less, which means less yen in their pockets), but the reason they chose this name makes almost no sense. It’s also really hard to pronounce in Japanese. V-sound? C’mon!

Here’s a couple other Japanese company names that make the “terrible-name list:”

Panisonic Eluga Phone:

EL = Elegant Design
U = user-oriented
GA = gateway

7-Eleven → 7 and i-Holdings

(happened after merging with i-Holdings in Japan)

What other terrible Japanese in-English names have you seen? There’s a ton out there, but these are the ones that came into my mind. Also, Smonkeys??? C’monnn.

  • thinkjapan

    I think Family Kitchen is a pretty terrible name. It’s ambiguous (it’s really a fast food restaurant), and it sounds like the name of a community soup kitchen for the poor (the reason my ignorant self steered clear of it while in Japan).

    That’s all topped off nicely by the fact that Japanese abbreviate it with ファキン, or Fa – Kin, short for Family Kitchen, but sounds a hell of a lot like ***king.

  • silent mevius

    You forgot to mention that メビウスis the Japanese pronunciation of Moebius, or infinity. Thinking they want us all to smoke an unlimited number of their mildly annoying product.

  • bob

    Girls’ clothes shop called TITTY recently opened in Hakata

  • :O

    I love how the CEO guy is clearly wearing makeup… xP

  • http://www.facebook.com/AbigailCamarillo Cam Abi

    Am I the only one who had a laughing fit when Hachi came out with a fake mustache??? lol

  • Londyn Cora