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From: steves@tektools.UUCP (steve shellans)
Newsgroups: net.jokes
Subject: Re: Coca Cola and the Chinese market (a true story)
Message-ID: <821@tektools.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 14-Mar-86 18:09:44 EST
Article-I.D.: tektools.821
Posted: Fri Mar 14 18:09:44 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Mar-86 08:35:57 EST
References: <766@cylixd.UUCP> <4294@ut-sally.UUCP>
Reply-To: steves@tektools.UUCP (steve shellans)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR.
Lines: 62
Keywords: translated ads

In article <4294@ut-sally.UUCP> ark@sally.UUCP (Arthur M. Keller) writes:
.
.
.
>
>I vaguely remember that Esso changed is name to Exxon because the name
>was a derogatory term in some language.  That's why the double X was
>chosen: it was assumed no language would have that construct.  Anybody
>else remember this or can supply more details?
>
>Arthur
>

A germ of truth.  Here's the whole story as I know it.  

In 1913, the U.S. Govt broke up the Rockefeller Standard Oil monopoly into
a number of smaller companies.  Most retained some vestige of the old
"Standard Oil" name.  Examples:

   Sohio = Standard Oil Company of Ohio
   Socony (Mobil) = Standard Oil Company of NY
   Esso = "SO" = Standard Oil
   etc, etc etc

Each of the mini companies tried to expand outside the area of the country
they had been allotted.  But the courts ruled that the names were too
similar in many cases, and it was some kind of infringement on the rights
of the resident company.  When this happened, some of the mini standard oil
companies were content to remain small local regional companies.  Others,
like Esso (Standard Oil of New Jersey) decided that they would market in
other regions under different names that would cause no confusion.

The downside to this is that national advertising is impractical.  And
regional advertising is very expensive -- separate artwork, separate
copywriting, etc.

So Esso decided to continue marketing outside the USA under the name Esso
(they still do so today, putting to rest the idea that it is an offensive
name in some language).  But for the USA, they decided to find a name
that was unique; would not cause confusion with any of the other 'standard
oils'; and had good marketing attributes.

Selecting a name with these characteristics cost an amount of money you
would not believe.  I don't remember the amount now, but it was larger
than the gross national product of many countries.  For example, they
went thru every phone book in the country looking for people with the
same names as the ones they considered using.  In the case of "Exxon",
they found only one person with that name -- a Judge Exxon in Texas.
They paid him off handsomely for the right to use that name for a sum
of money that has never been revealed in public.

(The city of Seattle was named after an Indian Chief Seattle under
similar circumstances, but that's a whole nother story.)

Now, what about that offensive word.  I cannot verify this, but the story
told to me was that Esso produced a rope made out of petroleum-based
artificial fiber, primarily for marine use (wouldn't rot, fade, and
lots of other good attributes for use on ships).  This was in the mid-1960s.
They gave it a trade name which I can't remember now, but I think it
began with "bu...".  Turned out it tranlated as "pussy" in some language.

[Sorry about running on for so long]