Glossary of Terms

TheHangTagBlog has developed some unique vocabulary. Here are some definitions and examples.

Fauxback - A portmanteau for a fake throw back design. Anything that is designed to look old, classic, or vintage, but is in fact a new design. Example: Nautica

Faux French - Sometimes hang tags have French translations in order to lend an air of authenticity to their designs. If the use of French seems particularly unnecessary, it gets the Faux French designation. This is entirely a judgment call. This also appears frequently on store brand hair care products. Example: Banana Republic

Generic - This is used as a term of art in two very specific ways. The first is in the trademark sense, to describe a term that does not have any secondary meaning and lacks any unique source identifying value. The famous examples are Xerox, Aspirin, and Klennex. The second use is tied closely to the subject of this blog as a way to describe items that are made as knock off or imitation versions of brand name products. This is similar to a House Brand, but lacks even the retailer specific tie-in. Example: Couture

Gift Receipt - A positive trait, this is used to describe the perforations that separate a portion of the hang tag with the price, for easy removal prior to gift giving. Example: Vera Bradley

name dot com- This designation is used to describe a web address that is simply “companyname.com.” Generally unnecessary and a negative, but still not as bad as the “www name dot com.”

Overly Technical Proof Of Purchase - Used somewhat sparingly, this is used to identify the text included on hang tags that informs the purchaser how returns work, and which portions should be retained for such purposes.

UPC Landing Zone - Described when a hang tag comes with a space designated for a store price tag or bar code. Named because it looks like a helicopter landing zone, this one is most fun when there is both an outline and text label. Example: Nike Dry

Victorian Caps - Unnecessary and Superfluous Capitalization Done for Emphasis of the most Vexatious Nature as in a Political Pamphlet from Victorian Times otherwise written in Ye Olde Englifh. See also Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap.

www name dot com - Instances where a company prints their web address that is simply the company name with a “dot com” on the end, and then adds an even more useless “www” prefix.

YoungEST - A portmanteau to describe brands that used "Established in 1996" or any other date that fails to offer a sense of history or timelessness. Example: Indigo Blue

No comments:

Post a Comment