Why on Earth would someone name their brand “Bitch” or “Bastard”? That’s probably the first thing most of the people would wonder when they hear about the rude name of a certain brand that contains such words. The wine brands “Royal Bitch”, “Happy Bitch”, “Sweet Bitch”, “Jealous Bitch”, are some of the labels that paved their way with such names into the wine stores and supermarkets in the last few years.

The traditional names of wines are usually gentle and soft, especially in the low price class. The weird names are more likely to pop up in the budget-priced segment. The reason for companies to choose a name that so obviously is not a good name is that this is what makes it actually a good name.

The “Bitch” wines are targeted to certain type of consumers. The sound of the names is like a slap by divorced women, aggressive feminists or about-to-get-married girls. The success of brands like Bitch led to other irrelevant names like Jealous Bitch, Ball Buster, etc. It turned out that it’s harder to compete in the conservative names class and it’s easy to stand out in the rude names’ class. It’s sold with smile, it’s bought with smile. What more is needed to make a brand successful?

The shock value plays a huge favour to these companies. It’s relevant to suggest that the alcohol brands are probably the most suitable ones to bet on rudeness and shock in their naming. However, in order to achieve good results with rude brand name, you need to find the balance between your target, your product and the amount of shock your brand can actually take. It’s a risky operation and professional help might be of use. That’s why in our international naming team we have professionals who are specialised in shock value and will help you make an educated choice about the name of your brand.