Comments on: Biggest marketing backfire since New Coke

By: mpclemens

mpclemens — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:00:51 +0000

Yes, it’s reportedly spelled (not pronounced) in a way that means “crap” in Polish.

I’ll pause for a moment to let the irony just wash over me.

By: Mike.Speegle

Mike.Speegle — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:31:54 +0000

To make matters worse, word on the street has it that “Syfy” means something very unpleasant in Polish.

After working at several soulless big box stores, corporate jargon/marketspeak makes me feel doubleplus ungood.

By: mpclemens

mpclemens — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:43:51 +0000

Yes, I know about the KTMA years, and the welcome spread to Ha!/Comedy Channel/Comedy Central. And CC did their own spot of maiming, including unleashing the transparent logo “bug” in the corner, usually smack over Crow’s head. Much rending of cloth and gnashing of teeth over that one.

Regarding names, we usually just mumble something about “it’s an Americanized version of ‘Erin’ which means ‘Ireland’” but that’s all just a smokescreen. She was named after a Peacekeeper, dang it.

By: olivander

olivander — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:39:44 +0000

Strikethru, I saw the “tween” Dora, and I have to say that I’m not that upset by it. The older Dora seems like a normal 10-year-old, and I think she can still be a wholesome, positive role model for girls who have moved beyond the pre-school Dora. I think it’s a smart marketing move. She isn’t replacing the original Dora, after all. That would have been stupid.

Mike, the killing of MST3K struck a deeply personal wound in my heart, as the show originated as a local access cable show up in the Cities. OTOH, Sci-Fi did save it–at least temporarily–when it was canceled by Comedy Central (which I think was still called Ha! back then).

And don’t feel nerdy about Aeryn (a name I love, btw). Our son Nick’s full name is Nickolai. We took it from “Forever Knight”. (Yes, son–if you’re reading this on the Internet Wayback Machine years from now–you were named after a vampire cop.)

By: mpclemens

mpclemens — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:26:46 +0000

Yay! More time for “Anaconda 3″ on the weekends (ALL weekend, mind you.) Frankly, they’ve been teetering on the edge of credibility for a while, and this is just one last great push downwards. “Siffy” (*derisive snort*)

They’ve got a fine tradition of killing/maiming decent shows. See also MST3K. Oh, and don’t even get me and the wife started on the killing-off of Farscape. Grrrr. (My youngest’s middle name is Aeryn… uh, yeah, we were big nerds for the show.)

By: Strikethru

Strikethru — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:25:58 +0000

I find this confusing b/cause the Century Theater chain used to be called Syufy. And as a former employee of the Century Theater chain, I won’t be able to keep this straight.

However: we have a far more grave and ominous rebranding crisis on our hands. Dora the Explorer: Tween Edition, in which the plucky, bilingual heroine ditches problem-solving, educational expeditions, and sensible shoes for miniskirts, Rapunzel hair, and strangely luminous jewelry.