What's in a name?
When you work for Douchebags you have to tell people you work for Douchebags.Seems obvious, but imagine for a second saying this to your most prudish friends. Or some stuffy dinner party guests. Or your grandma. I work for Douchebags.
Responses are typically something like...
Wait, that’s really the name?
Wait, I think I’ve heard of that.
That’s so genius.
That’s so stupid.
Yeah, my bosses are douchebags, too.
The common theme of the reactions? They start a conversation. Which, when it was named back in 2011 — at the suggestion of a Youtube commenter by the name of JonReinbergen — was the perfect outcome for a scrappy company with one shot to launch, be bought, be remembered and start a conversation.
A few months ago I wrote a Facebook ad that said something like, “With a name like Douchebags, our products have to be good!” And while I was being a smart ass, I do believe it’s true. What’s made this company successful is the founders’ obsession with creating problem-solving products, while the name was jarring enough to fuel the brand’s rocketship in the first decade. But the next 10 years? I’m not sure.
To adapt Shakespeare’s famous question:What’s in a name? Will that which we call a Douchebag by any other name be designed as perfectly?
What do you think?