Federal Express became the generic word for overnight
delivery. (“I’ll FedEx it to you.”)
3M’s Scotch tape became the generic word for cellophane
tape. (“I’ll Scotch-tape it together.”)
Even though the lawyers hate it, making the brand name a
generic is the ultimate weapon in the marketing wars. But it’s
something only a specialist can do. The generalist can’t
become a generic.
Nobody ever says, “Get me a beer from the G.E.”
The Levi Lesson
No company better understands the problems of line exten-
sion and lack of focus than Levi Strauss & Co., the fabled
maker of jeans.
In the 1970s and early 1980s they tried “extending the
equity of the brand” with reckless ...