rebranding

[Charles C Doyle]

Many readers will be familiar with the "urban legend" regarding the rebranding of Kentucky Fried Chicken as KFC.  The aim was not to eliminate the opprobrius "fried" but rather to avoid the word "chicken"--which, according to (instrusive) government regulations, must designate a a living, breathing, feathered, two-winged, two-lfooted, one-backed, one-necked fowl.  You see, the corporation is now raising hydroponic pseudo-birds, without feathers or wings or feet or backs or necks or heads or entrials--just the choice and profitable parts of the fryer.


--Charlie

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From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Margaret Lee [mlee303 at YAHOO.COM]
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 4:32 AM


KFC was also advertising a=A0few years ago as Kitchen Fresh Chicken.=0A=0A-=
-Margaret Lee=0A=0A>> >Kentucky Fried Chicken --> KFC (to avoid the referen=
ce to "fried" food)=0A>=0A> Some of these abbreviations, like the above cou=
ple, overlap with the=0A> more general practice of euphemistic distancing b=
y initialism=0A> extending to the rebranding of non-brands, as in V.D. and =
STD/STI=0A> (discussed here recently), along with E.D., P.E. (not the gym k=
ind),=0A> and now in commercials Low T.=A0 I like to think of these as plai=
n=0A> brown wrapper initialisms.=0A>=0A> LH=0A>=0A> -----------------------=

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