[spade111]

what do you mean? It's really very simple: going into a shop in Germany and asking for the KaZett is going to sound very, very awkward. They could just as well have introduced it as the Pentax Moth*****ker in the US.

referring to: it might be that those who find it offensive simply suffer a poverty of imagination"

Sorry - that sounds a lot more offensive, taken out of context like that... The comment "it might be that those who find it offensive simply suffer a poverty of imagination" - was meant more as a sarcastic emphasis against the idea that culturally insensitive branding is permissible on the basis of "not realizing their mistake" (as ignorance is never a good defence) - and against those that argue people who find it offensive should open their minds... (I absolutely disagree with that sentiment). Cultural insensitivity is not ok, and sometimes we should be offended. (and the rest of my original post supports that idea...)

Just wanted to clear that up.

[Jean Poitiers]

Q = Queen (as in: K = King), They could have changed it for francophone countries but come on! An innuendo is a pretty flimsy excuse to change a name.

True, an innuendo would be a flimsy excuse ... but it certainly makes your product sound silly, even the the French photo press made a few snide remarks about the "Q" name ...

No need to shoot yourself in the foot when the whole Canikon oriented world is awaiting the slightest slip in order to do the same.

"Q" is a product name error, much like the "K2000/Km" variation et "K-7" in French ... and don't get me started again about the "K-z" thing ... One, two, three strikes and you're out.

[Docrwm]

Like what? Admittedly, my memory seems to be getting poorer, but I can't recall an instance in the car industry of this occurring.

Nova comes to mind ( no go in Spanish as I recall).

[Docrwm]

A very good point ... maybe KZ offends more than possibly 100 million Germans ... there's the Jewish community as well ... plus several nationalities of many European nations that had their citizens deported as well (like my former neighbor) ... gee, the scope here is getting bigger and bigger AND BIGGER. Get my point?

KZ, or whatevet variant thereof, as a product name risks being a cultural insult, thus it's stupid, dumb, idiotic, etc. ... and should be avoided, PERIOD.

The very first people the Nazis systematically executed were the mentally challenged, retarded and mentally ill. The second group were the politicals, mostly communists. Then came the homosexuals. Need I go on?

[Jean Poitiers]

Nova comes to mind ( no go in Spanish as I recall).

... and the Toyota "MR2" in French ... etc., etc.

[RXrenesis8]

"Q" is a product name error

= Q

Does this card look different in France? (honest question)

[ElJamoquio]

Nova comes to mind ( no go in Spanish as I recall).

snopes.com: Nova Don't Go

[ElJamoquio]

... and the Toyota "MR2" in French ... etc., etc.

I thought this was named something different in France.

[Docrwm]

snopes.com: Nova Don't Go

Hmmm...graduate marketing textbooks say it was a problem vs. internet site? Hmmmm...which will I believe?

[Clinton]

You know what's great about the K-z?

Apparently not it's name. We've got no real specs on it yet, so we need to hate on it's name. Then once it's released we can hate on it's world class sensor, or the fact that it's got an OVF, or that it's not weathersealed, or the fact that it's not an Elephant.

This concludes your 2 minute hate.

[eddie1960]

LOL! Erm... I mean: Shame! Shame!

Seriously, does Porsche sell the 911 in America under a different name?!? Of course not. That would be extremely silly. Anybody with half a brain can separate the car from that terrible event.

the porsche 911 existed for a few decades prior to the event, not the same thing

[ElJamoquio]

Hmmm...graduate marketing textbooks say it was a problem vs. internet site? Hmmmm...which will I believe?

Which was written by professors who majored in marketing?

[Vylen]

Which was written by professors who majored in marketing?

Who probably learned it from other textbooks who were written by other professors, who heard about it from other professors that also got it passed on to them by someone who thought it was funny.

Textbooks can be wrong and most don't go to the liberty of citing sources (anyone can write a book, just as much as anyone can write a website). Marketing textbooks that use the Nova as an example just seem to be perpetuating a popular urban legend just to try to make a (humours) point.

Snopes on the other hand, one of the best sites that go through the effort of using primary and secondary sources to either verify or debunk claims, actually has cited references. Unfortunately, I can't go chasing up these sources... can be a bit hard to access them at times, but lets take the benefit of the doubt with the seemingly more reputable party

Also, I don't know why I bothered writing about this... hmmm.

[Tonto]

To note how different things are in different countries KZ has a positive connotation in New Zealand as it is the prefix used on New Zealands America's Cup Yachts:
Eg KZ7 (its the nickname for my K7 even )

[kcmadr]

!!! Too true.

But now we can lavish our hate upon you for hating our hate...

You know what's great about the K-z?

Apparently not it's name. We've got no real specs on it yet, so we need to hate on it's name. Then once it's released we can hate on it's world class sensor, or the fact that it's got an OVF, or that it's not weathersealed, or the fact that it's not an Elephant.

This concludes your 2 minute hate.