David McLean

Mad Dogs and Englishmen, the famously creative New York advertising agency, closed shop in 2005, but I’ll always salute a company that finds its brand in a Noel Coward song. (Thanks to Bob Downe via YouTube!)

Of course Joe Cocker had a similar idea with his 1970 album by the same name.

The other day I was checking the expression “Dutch uncle,” since I used it in my November 19 entry. I was delighted to find a photo and art licensing agency in London named Dutch Uncle. What a cool name! And their blog is a great source of inspiration for innovative and fun graphics.

Ahem. King’s English has served my firm pretty well too. In 1994, I decided that I wasn’t going to join the alphabet soup of Name & Associates. Some might have thought King’s English to be a little arrogant, but I think it’s both “in-your-face” and self-deprecating, in an Oscar Wilde sort of ironic way. I don’t generally wink, but there’s an implied nudge in the name, I promise you. People remember it and we get a positive comment a month. The occasional Brit likes to remind me that it’s currently the Queen’s English, but I plan to survive into the coming monarchy and Queen’s English sounds a little bit like a swishy billiard parlor.

Naming companies doesn’t have to be a stodgy experience. And if you want my opinion, I don’t think it ever really has to be so.

Expressions make great brand names because they have poetic emotion built right in. Of course, the dangers are they can become dated, be overly cute and sometimes they’re just not a good match. In our case, with a name like King’s English, we had better not split any infinitives. Then again, our company motto, from Shakespeare is “Here will be an old abusing of God’s patience and the King’s English.” That’s our excuse for typos. What is advertising if not a playful bending or otherwise abuse of the language?

At the end of the day, I can attest to the power of an expression as a brand. I’m convinced our name has moved us to the top of agency reviews and I know that people remember it. In fact, people sometimes call me David English. I prefer King David.

So when you’re naming a new company, consider looking beyond the “Ronco”s and “K-Tel”s. Get out your Bartlett’s and find some panache.

If you need help, contact me.