Razing Arizona
April 30, 2010 Category :Arizona| politics 0
I know that Arizona Iced Teas are made by the Arizona Beverage Company, and I know thanks to a lot of hooting and hollering by that company that they hail from Long Island, New York. But I’m not comfortable with anything that says Arizona on it these days, even if the connection to the hate state is tangential.
Its unfortunate for the iced tea folks, and it may not be fair, but its a historic problem with marketing a product or creating a brand that has other meanings. Ask anyone who marketed anything as “gay” in the early 1960s.
Or Japp’s Potato Chips, which since 1927 were made by Leonard Japp’s company on the south side of Chicago; at least until Pearl Harbor where they were quickly rechristened as Jay’s. William Katt’s character in the Greatest American Hero was to premiere as Ralph Hinkley, until John Hinkley took a shot at Ronald Reagan just before showtime. A lot of quick editing obscured his name.
Or the Chevy Nova, which did well in the United States, but failed miserably in Spanish-speaking countries where the phrase “no va” means “[it] doesn’t go.”
So when I have my choice of iced teas, I won’t be picking Arizona brand. Sorry Arizona Beverage. I know there’s no rational reason for it. I just suddenly don’t like the name. But when it comes to anything Arizona, “no rational reason for it,” is going to be a big problem for at least several months to come.