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THE EXAMINED LIFE

Hello, my name is Amplifico

EARLIER THIS MONTH, the BBC reported that an effort to mock the "corporate rebranding" trend -- remember when Bell Atlantic became Verizon? -- had backfired.

Whatbrandareyou.com, a website set up by British marketing firm The Design Conspiracy, was intended to demonstrate the absurdity of newfangled nomenclatures. On the site, users are asked to select a core value (e.g., "dynamic," "caring") and a main goal ("global leadership," "client focus"), and are then automatically offered an ersatz corporate moniker, such as Enhancion, There4, Accumulo, or Visulade. Oddly enough, according to the BBC, since its launch in May 2002 at least 20 of the site's neologisms -- including Libero, Rebellis, Winnovate, Amplifico, Ovisovis, and Thinc -- have been officially registered by British businesses.

Design Conspiracy creative director Ben Terrett admitted to Ideas that some of the names in question may have been registered without Whatbrandareyou.com's help. Then he asked, "But can 'Ovisovis' or 'Rebellis' really be a coincidence?"

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