"The Blitz, isn't that something to do with bombs and war?"

"Well to me blitz means to do something fast, to blitz it"

Jesus Wept, if these are supposed to be Britains brightest candidates, then the education system is abysmal.

Even those with the most rudimentary education should surely know that 'the Blitz' nickname was coined during WWII as a shortened version of the German phrase 'Blitzkrieg'.

And in German, Blitz Krieg means 'Lightning/Flash War' - i.e. the revolutionary new tactic employed by the Nazi's to utilise new technology in great numbers to quickly overpower an opponent and avoid getting bogged down into the stalemate situation the combatants ended up in in WWI.

I cannot believe that 20-somethings nowadays have such a weak grasp of basic general knowledge, which was also apparent with their vague idea's of what 'Apollo' referred to. The sad thing is, that they don't even seem to be aware of the fact have such a lack of knowledge. They probably didn't even know that the word 'Blitz' was German.

I blame the education system.

idea's?

I, too, blame the education system.

(a plural does not require an apostrophe)

I think they are aware of the 'blitz' in WW2 but people do use the expression "I'm going to blitz this room as it's so untidy" I think that's what she was thinking when she suggested it.

That's what I thought too. I'm sure Laura did know about the WW2 meaning, but, like her, I also use the term as in "blitzing the room clean".

I think Stuart (was it Stuart? or Alex?) was being overly cautious.

On one level "Blitz" would be a great name for a cleaning product - rather like "Flash". But it would also be extremely disrespectful for those who lived though it or lost family.
What shocked me was Alex's dismissal of it, not on grounds of taste, but rather that most people who were familiar with the word were either very old or dead.

But don't think Blitz would make a good brand name, as not everyone from that time is dead, no matter if Alex thinks so. Oldish folks seeing that name on the container would be reminded of the bad times. Flash is a lot better.

Anyway the Blitz has hugely positive associations. Because the British united against Hitler. It is regarded as a high point in British history due to the courage and resistance shown by the populace.

The Blitz is very fondly remembered because of the response to it.

there is The Blitz - as above stated from the German tactic of 'Lightning War' (FWIW developed during the Spanish civil war through German 'military advisers') which was the period of intense bombing designed to destroy morale, yet having the opposite effect of rallying the British - so to those involved - an example of something good coming from something bad - thus an excellent name for a cleaning product
and there is the verb - to blitz - meaning to clean thoroughly and quickly.

some cleaning companies already offer a 'blitz' service.

(my grandfather worked as a fireman in the Blitz before going into the army and I don't find it at all disrespectful to name a cleaning product after the event)

it was a good name.

Flash is a clear reference to Flash Gordon and therefore an unacceptable name to use. In fact, the makers of Flash, Procter & Gamble, were sued by Flash Gordon's arch villain: Ming the Mericless, ruler of Mongo. He took them to court and won. Procter & Gamble's former CEO is now serving a life term in the mines of Mongo. Nice one, Ming!

Does that mean DC Comics won't be able to sue them as well??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_(comics)

'Blitz' means many things, so it's not really that unacceptable.

I thought "Blitz" was a good name for the product, although can understand if some people think it "upsetting" to a percentage of the population.

I wouldn't have gone with Blitz, simply because it's clichéd to the point I would consider it unusable, but the WW2 connotations are not actually a bad thing as Alex suggested. The point Laura was making - correctly - is that because of the WW2 blitz, the word has become associated with fast, destructive, power, which is basically the kind of association you want for a cleaning product campaign.

"Germ-o-nator" (and yes, it was spelled like that), sounds terrible for a cleaning product, not least because "germinate" is a word associated with growth and multiplication - hardly the connotations you want for a campaign.

Blitz was certainly better than the Germinator. I can't imagine that anyone would be offended by it. Most people of a certain age are probably a bit set in their ways with cleaning products and wouldn't buy anything new anyway.

But that's exactly what wins these kinds of tasks. They don't want anything different, they want copies of what's already on the market.

Someone doesn't agree with you.
http://www.allianceonline.co.uk/clea...-casc0001.html

Lol, was just about to post that.

That means the name would have been vetoed by the production team. Alex on YF said that a lot of names were vetoed. Rather than tell the truth, the editors just showed it as Alex's fault (ok his knowledge of history was poor). Maybe it was discussed more only to be told, no?

and here's another one, for the bathroom
http://www.bizrate.co.uk/homehardwar...124098618.html

its a german word and means lightening. I see nothing wrong with using such a common word.

Nor do I. Whilst there was 'The Blitz' it's become a slang term in the UK for 'hammered' eg going to get blitzed, or attack with gusto eg going to blitz the oven with this.

There are at least two cleaning products already called Blitz. I suspect the production team vetoed the name because it was too close to a real company's product. Haven't checked, but I would doubt that it's trademarked, though could be as a particular logo.

On YF both Howard with Pantsman and Alex said that there were ideas on the table, but very late the producers vetoed them, leaving little time for them to do anything. So in both cases they went with the only thing left. At least this year it still made base level sense. They just messed up some details. Though not as much as Sugar made out/up IMHO.

i've said this on another thread, but BLITZ was fine.

chef's blitz food all the while.

just needed to be short and punchy,

BLITZ/MAGIC/FRESH etc etc


somerfield used to have a washing powder called CYCLON. I thought that was a bit near to the German gas ZYKLON - but nobody bothered/noticed.

might mean lightning. I doubt it means lightening.

the other thing is - advert style.

they always reckon there are 2 sorts of ads - arty ones, that no-one remembers the product. and in-your-face ones like Cillit Bang.

Sir Alan always seems to show a total lack of imagination, and prefers the second type. Don't try and be subtle around him. It's lost on him.

Neither ad was subtle in this instance.

I'm Irish, but don't British people refer to "the Blitz spirit", as being a really good thing, triumphing against adversity, etc? And with good cause.

I'll just add my voice to those who point out blitz is a well-used word and could hardly be seen to cause offence (isn't there a girls' magazine called that --- or is that Glitz? Not that I read them, you understand....)

Some interesting reading here on the origins and use of blitzkrieg tactics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitzkrieg

And of "the blitz" the bombing of Britains industrial towns/ports and civilian population by the Germans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blitz