Buzz
Punctuation can often be a source of frustration, especially when it's part of a brand name. Here are eight brands dealing with issues caused by these small yet significant symbols.
1. Mini Moo's
Mini Moo’s are small cartons of half-and-half ... wait, that’s not quite accurate ... Mini Moo’s is actually a coffee creamer sold in single-serving packages. That appears to be the company’s preferred phrasing. Why else include an apostrophe before the s? Who exactly is Mini Moo, the supposed owner of this creamer? Is she a miniature cow providing milk in petite quantities? Even if we accept that interpretation, it’s hard not to view the product as a group of individually packaged servings.
2. Land O Lakes
Land O’Lakes, the company behind Mini Moo’s, also struggles with apostrophe inconsistencies. While the corporation’s official name is Land O’Lakes (with an apostrophe), the brand name on its products is Land O Lakes (without the apostrophe). This means Land O Lakes Mini Moo’s is (or are?) produced by Land O’Lakes, Inc.
3. Filet-O-Fish
Similar to the o in Land O’Lakes, the o in McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish represents the word of. This shorthand for of appears in terms like Will-o’-the-wisp, Jack-o’-lantern, cat o’ nine tails, and man-o’-war, where an apostrophe replaces the missing letter f. So, does Filet-O-Fish imply a filet of fish? Interestingly, McDonald’s only used an apostrophe in the name of the sandwich’s former mascot, Phil A. O’Fish, where the O’ resembles Irish surnames, meaning “descended from” rather than representing of.
4. Beef ‘O’ Brady’s
Are two letters missing from the name of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s sports bar chain? “Beef [F]o[r] Brady’s”? “Beef [N]o[t] Brady’s”? Not quite. When a letter is omitted at the start of a word, a left-facing apostrophe is used, as in ’tis or get ’em, not a right-facing single quote. Here, the O is enclosed in single quotes, seemingly used not for its meaning but as a symbol of Irish bar-themed flair.
5. Lands’ End
Land’s End, with the apostrophe before the s, signifies the farthest point of a peninsula. But what does Lands’ End mean? The conclusion of multiple lands? It turns out, it was a typo that stuck. Founder Gary Comer admitted, “it was a mistake in our first printed material, and we couldn’t afford to fix it.”
6. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse
Who owns this steakhouse? In 1965, Ruth Fertel purchased a Louisiana restaurant named Chris Steak House. She retained the original name, which was well-known, but only if she stayed at the same location. After a fire in 1974 forced her to relocate, she had to rename it, resulting in the tongue-twisting Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.
7. Toys “R” Us
The reversed R in the Toys “R” Us logo is iconic, but it’s not a punctuation issue. However, the scare quotes around the R are problematic. While not present on every sign, the original corporate name was Toys “R” Us Inc., later rebranded as Tru Kids Inc. in 2019. Why the quotes? Are they suggesting we might not know R isn’t the correct spelling of are? Most style guides recommend omitting the quotes when referencing the company and avoiding scare quotes entirely. The Chicago Manual of Style warns that they can “annoy readers if overused.”
8. Yahoo!
Style guides also discourage using the exclamation mark when mentioning Yahoo, which, like other brands (e.g., Chips Ahoy! and Oh Henry!), includes it as part of its official name. However, not all publications adhere to this advice, leading to misleadingly enthusiastic headlines such as “Yahoo! Investors Don’t Need to Worry About the IRS.”
This article was originally published in 2015 and has been updated for 2022.
