BRAND SECRETS

Check Out These 10 Surprising Stories Behind Your Favorite Brands!

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Have you ever wondered about the origins of your favorite brands? While it may seem like those famous logos and slogans have been around forever, behind every successful brand lies a journey of perseverance and hard work, with ups and downs that led it to its current status. From crucial decisions full of uncertainty to some amazing lucky strikes, their trajectories are as diverse as the products they offer.

If you're curious, join us as we unravel 10 fascinating stories behind these iconic brands!

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Nike, one of the most famous sports brands in the world, has an unmistakable logo that today symbolizes not just a brand but also a lifestyle. Surprisingly, this emblem of triumph was created for a mere $35! Can you believe it?

That's right; Nike's legendary "Swoosh" was created in 1971 by graphic design student Carolyn Davidson, and the brand compensated her with 35 bucks.

The founders of Nike approached the student with a humble request: to design a logo for their sports footwear brand, initially named "Blue Ribbons." Inspired by the wings of the Greek goddess Nike, she crafted the iconic symbol we know today.

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Amazon.com, Inc. has undergone several transformations from its conception in 1994 to the present day. Initially, the now-famous Jeff Bezos named his company "Cadabra," conceived as an online bookstore. However, an encounter with a lawyer mistaking "Cadabra" for a similar, less favorable word provoked Bezos to rethink the name. Inspired by the immensity of the South American river, he changed it to "Amazon."

Its logo also had a captivating evolution, transitioning from a capital letter "A" to the iconic "Amazon smile" we know today. If you look closely, you'll notice that the smiley arrow connects the letters "A" to "Z," referring to the extensive range of products you can find today on Amazon.

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There's nothing like a chilled glass of Coke on a scorching day, right? However, while a nice sip of cool soda does offer a refreshing relief, it is not a true medication. But why are we saying this? Because surprisingly, Coca-Cola was advertised as a medicinal beverage in its origins!

Originally sold as an herbal drink to relieve headaches and fatigue, Coca-Cola has changed its formula and marketing strategies over the years. For more than a century, Coca-Cola has kept its formula as one of the most jealously guarded secrets (and continues to do so), yet no one can deny that it is a successful recipe.

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Feeling hungry? Well, we know it's never the wrong time for a quick burger, and luckily, you know where to find it. However, it wasn't always this way.

In 1940, when brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald decided to open their first restaurant, the original plan wasn't a fast-food joint; it was a barbecue restaurant. But their journey took an unexpected turn.

Eight years later, in 1948, the brothers retooled the restaurant, moving from slow-cooked barbecue to a simplified menu focused on speed and efficiency. The rest is history!

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Sometimes, the chaos of conflict hosts the potential for major achievements.

Have you ever heard of the rivalry between Adolf and Rudolf Dassler? These two weren't just average brothers; they were the creators of two iconic sportswear names: Adidas and Puma. And their story is as epic as these brands.

In 1919, they founded together a shoe-manufacturing company. However, after 30 years of partnership, tensions emerged and conflict dominated the scene. In 1948, Rudolf went his own way and founded Puma, initially called "Ruda" (a fusion of his name, Rudolf Dassler). A year later, his brother Adolf did the same and created Adidas, a brand with his own name.

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Few people would say "no" to a delicious M&M, right? While today it enjoys worldwide fame, the origin of this tasty treat is still a mystery to many.

Forrest Mars Sr. brought M&M's to life, but his creative concept didn't come out of nowhere. In the 1930s, Mars observed soldiers from the Spanish Civil War eating tiny chocolates covered in a sugary coating.

When he learned that the coating served as a clever anti-melting solution for the chocolate, inspiration struck him. In 1941, our M&M's were born and they actually were part of the soldiers' ration during WWII.

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As noted earlier in this article, some classic rivalries arise from certain shared characteristics.

Like Coca-Cola, Pepsi also emerged as a "healthy" energy drink. Originating in the 1890s, its creator, Caleb Bradham, initially marketed it as "Brad's Drink" and sold it in his North Carolina drugstore.

Around 1900, Bradham decided to rebrand his beverage, naming it "Pepsi," and it's fair to say he hit the mark. The new name was not only playful and catchy, but it also alluded to its supposed purpose: alleviating dyspepsia (known to us mere mortals as indigestion).

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If you ever feel like you have to adjust your goals, don't be afraid, as doing so could lead you to success.

When you hear "ice cream," chances are Ben & Jerry's comes to your mind. However, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield's initial plan was a little different, as they started as a bagel company! Upon discovering the high costs involved in bagel-baking machinery, the founders opted to change their focus.

The new direction came with its costs, although considerably lower. In 1978, Ben and Jerry decided to take a course to learn how to make ice cream, and the brand quickly became one of America's favorites!

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Almost 160 years ago, of course, there were no cell phones, but there was Nokia. That's right, the famous brand now associated with technology was born in 1865, but you'd be surprised to learn how it started.

So, what were they doing then? Nokia was originally founded as a pulp mill company in southern Finland. Over the years, it expanded into new markets, and a century after its creation, its offer was wide, including a range of different products derived from paper and rubber.

In the 1980s, the brand divested itself of all its products except those related to telecommunications. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, Nokia was one of the world's best-selling cell phone brands. Remember that iconic Nokia ringtone on your cell phone?

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Before Google was born, its parents originally had another name in mind. But as often happens in families, they decided to change it.

Originally named "BackRub," the search engine was created by Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University in 1995, but the original name was not convincing. Can you imagine if a friend asked you to 'backrub' the name of a singer? Weird, isn't it?

So, what did the new name mean? "Google" is actually a misspelling of "Googol," which represents the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. It was adopted with the intention of linking the company to the concept of offering large amounts of information.

THINGS TO COME

Retrofuturistic Predictions: 10 Vintage Ideas That Eventually Came True

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Humans love to predict the future. The ability to imagine other possible worlds is probably what makes us human. None of the things we have been able to create throughout history, from pyramids to airplanes, would have been possible without first imagining them. During the 20th century, as the turn of the millennium approached, scientists, writers, and illustrators imagined technological innovations that, if they seemed outlandish at the time, were proven right years later. In this article, we have compiled 10 scientific prophecies that have come true.

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British writer and scientist Arthur C. Clarke not only fascinated the world with his science fiction stories but also anticipated with remarkable accuracy some of the most relevant technological advances in history. In October 1945, Clarke published an article exploring the possibility of using artificial satellites as communication stations.

Clarke predicted that one day communications would be carried by a network of three satellites placed at fixed intervals around the Earth's equator. Two decades later, NASA launched one of the first such satellites. Syncom 3 was used to relay images of the 1964 Olympic Games from Tokyo to the United States, providing the first television transmission across the Pacific Ocean.

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Today we couldn’t conceive our lives without the Internet. It allows us to communicate with our loved ones over long distances, learn the news as soon as it happens, and it provide us with entertainment at all hours. Many have claimed to have predicted this invention, however, the one who came closest to describing what we know today as the Internet was Serbian American engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla.

In a 1909 interview with The New York Times, he described it almost perfectly. Although the Internet would not be invented until a few decades later, Tesla told the newspaper that in the future people would be able to listen, broadcast, and share speeches, songs, and images to the most remote parts of the planet through inexpensive devices operated from a single station. Pretty accurate, don’t you think?

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The first smartwatch, as we know it today, was launched in 2004, and it wasn't until 2015 that Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced the Apple Watch. However, this device already existed in the minds of people who imagined an interconnected future as early as the 1940s.

In January 1946, the popular comic strip about police detective Dick Tracy first featured the Two-Way Wrist Radio. The newspaper comic series featured Tracy talking through his watch, a concept that was totally revolutionary at the time. The device became an icon of the comic strip and is said it later inspired American engineer Martin Cooper in the development of the mobile phone.

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Between 1899 and 1910, a series of French postcards called "In the year 2000" —generally attributed to an artist named Jean-Marc Côté— attempted to portray what he imagined life might be like in the 21st century.

One of the most accurate predictions was the Cinéma-Phono-Télégraphique, a device very similar to what we know today as video calls. In this illustration, we see the image of a woman projected on a screen while the caller speaks to a receiver.

Throughout the rest of the century, there were several attempts to develop this technology. For example, in 1957, the Hughes company announced the Tonotron, which allowed calls to be made through a sort of television set. In the end, the Tonotron was not commercialized, yet retrofuturism was right in predicting systems such as FaceTime which are now essential to our daily lives.

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Many of the predictions portrayed in the French postcard series depict various forms of air transportation, most likely influenced by the technological developments that were taking place in the early 20th century. From flying policemen and firemen to air tennis and air hunting, many of these inventions have yet to become a reality, but what is close to happening is flying mail.

Well, to be fair, we're not going to see mailmen delivering letters while mounted on some sort of personal flying saddle reminiscent of the Wright Brothers' early airbikes. However, even though today handwritten letters are almost a thing of the past, we are already starting to see the first autonomous drones delivering packages right up to our doorsteps.

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Like flying vehicles, automation is a cornerstone of futurism. Today we have robots that vacuum and scrub our homes and it seems like the most normal thing in the world. But, back in the early 1900s, some masterminds had already envisioned that before the end of the century, we would see electric and almost automatic brooms. These cleaning devices, however, would still depend on a person to give them directions and tell them where they had to clean.

Luckily, technology has surpassed the wildest fantasies of these retro-futurists, and now we can let our trusty vacuum robots do the dirty work while we go out for a walk. Though to be honest, it wouldn't be a bad thing to have a Rosie the Robot who not only cleaned but also talked to us in a Brooklyn accent!

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In 1989, Back to the Future (Part II) showed the world an amazingly accurate version of a VR headset, worn by none other than Marty McFly. Today, virtual reality glasses are becoming increasingly popular and are here to stay. But did you know that different authors had already conceived of this idea in the early 20th century?

For example, Pygmalion's Spectacles is a science fiction short story by American author Stanley G. Weinbaum published in 1935. In it, a professor invents a pair of goggles that display a film that can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, and tasted. Not only that, the user becomes part of the story and is no longer a mere spectator. It may not sound like it, but this is not something for a promotional video of Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse; it is a tale imagined 90 years ago.

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In December 1960, Arthur Radebaugh, a famous American futurist illustrator, published his vision of what the classrooms of the future would look like. Teachers would no longer have to attend schools and would impart classes to several groups at the same time from a distant location. Each student would have a device with a camera, screen, and keyboard available to participate and ask questions.

Sixty-five years ago these predictions might have sounded far-fetched; however, remote classes through applications such as Zoom have become a reality, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Today this is a key resource that allows students to receive education even if they are in distant and remote parts of the world.

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"Don't be surprised if many of tomorrow's homes are built on turntables. They would slowly pivot all day long to receive maximum benefit from health-giving sun rays and ensure heat in winter," reads another Radebaugh illustration published in 1959 in Toronto's The Star Weekly.

While the prediction of rotating houses has not come true, the cartoonist correctly anticipated the idea that homes would begin to harvest solar energy. Today many houses have solar panels installed on the roof providing electricity in a more sustainable way.

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In 1938, a few years before the first television broadcast, the British company Gramophone Co. announced its "Television Monocle", an individual device that would allow personal, uninterrupted television viewing. The device projected a 1.5 x 1-inch image from a cathode ray tube, which the viewer could see thanks to two mirrors placed inside at 45 degrees.

Although this invention did not prosper, we can consider it an ancestor of one of the many uses we nowadays give to our smartphones. Who hasn't streamed a film or a video on their phone to kill time during a long trip? We have retro-futurists to thank!