THEY are famous brands – but what are the fables behind the labels.
With supermarket hero Aldi hailed as Grocer of the Year at the recent Retail Week Awards, we wondered how many shoppers know what the discounter’s name stands for.
Put your knowledge to the test – how many of these full names of brands do you really know?
Test if you know what Aldi and these other iconic companies actually mean
And there are countless other brands that are all too familiar on first glance – but do you know how they earned their moniker?
Grab a pen and put your knowledge to the test in our fun quiz. . .
TECHNOLOGY
LG
Do you know what LG stands for?
a) Life’s Good
b) Lo-Go
c) Live Green
d) Lucky Goldstar
HP
a) High Power
b) Hewlett-Packard
c) Henry Penville
d) Happy Processor
HTC
a) High Tech Computer
b) Hit The Cell
c) Hold The Call
d) Holden Tenby Company
EE
a) Energy Empire
b) Enjoy Everything
c) Everything Everywhere
d) Enter your Element
YAHOO!
How about big tech company Yahoo?
a) Yahoo!
b) You Are Here Only Once
c) Yes, A Helpful, Online Oracle
d) Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle
ON THE HIGH ST
HMV
a) Homemade Video
b) Hotel Motel Video
c) His Master’s Voice
d) Heavy Metal Vibes
DFS
a) Dead Fab Sofas
b) Decor For Seniors
c) Discount Furniture & Settees
d) Direct Furnishing Supplies
Ever wondered what B&Q stands for?
B&Q
a) Block & Quayle
b) Bricks & Quick
c) Block & Quarry
d) Builders & Quakers
HSBC
And what about big bank HSBC?
a) Hot Singles Banking Corp
b) Headstrong Bills & Cash
c) The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
d) Helpful Savings Bank Company
ODEON
a) Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation
b) Ode To Entertainers Anon
c) Overdoing Everything Once
d) Only Doughnut Eaters Overnight
FOOD AND DRINK
M&Ms
a) Moss & Miller
b) Melting Moments
c) Mess & Makers
d) Mars & Murrie
Have you thought about what PG Tips really means?
PG TIPS
a) Pre-Gest-Tea
b) Peter George
c) Please Guests
d) Pleasant Greens
HP SAUCE
a) Harry Potter
b) Happy Plate
c) Houses of Parliament
d) Heinz Pairing
SPAM
a) Shoulder of Pork and Ham
b) Slimy Piece A Meat
c) Sandwich Pork Amore
d) Square Packed Animal Meat
KP NUTS
a) Kevin Pietersen
b) Kracking Packet
c) King Pin
d) Kenyon Produce
DELIVERY COMPANIES
DHL
a) Dalsey Hillblom Lynn
b) Delivering Home Lifestyle
c) Dean House Logistics
d) Derek’s Hot Lorries
DPD
a) Dave’s Parcels Direct
b) Drive Post Deliver
c) Dynamic Parcel Distribution
d) Do Post Differently
UPS
Maybe the meaning of UPS will surprise you
a) Universal Post Service
b) United Parcel Service
c) United Parcel Senders
d) U Pick, We Send
FEDEX
Think you know what FedEx could mean?
a) Fred’s Express Deliveries
b) Fast Driver Extraordinaire
c) Foreign Depot Exports
d) Federal Express
TNT
a) Thomas Nationwide Transport
b) Take No Time
c) To New Towns
d) Top Notch Trackers
PRODUCTS
NERF
Did you even know that Nerf was an acronym?
a) No Escape from Rapid Fire
b) Never-Ending Rough Fighter
c) Now Experience Real Fear
d) Non-Expanding Recreational Foam
LEGO
a) Let’s Go
b) League of Gift Officials
c) Leg Godt
d) Leggo of Me
MAC
a) Make-up Art Cosmetics
b) Main Avenue Cosmetics
c) Make It & Cake It
d) Men’s Acrylics
DUREX
And have you taken time to wonder about Durex’s meaning?
a) Durable Reliable Excellence
b) Do it, Use it, Roll it, Exit
c) Dumb Relationship Experts
d) Duration Expectations
WD40
a) Wild DIY for over 40s
b) Windows, Doors & Floors
c) Water Displacement, 40th Attempt
d) When in Doubt, Fork Out
FASHION
Ever thought about the initials if you’ve shopped at DKNY?
DKNY
a) Denise Karen New York
b) Diamond Karat Noble Young
c) Donna Karan New York
d) Dress Keen, Never Young
D&G
a) Dolce & Gabbana
b) Dress & Guess
c) David & Goliath
d) Divide & Gonker
H&M
What could H&M stand for?
a) Harry & Meghan
b) Hosiery & Menswear
c) Heather & Massimo
d) Hennes & Mauritz
ASOS
a) All Sold On Site
b) As Seen On Screen
c) Affordable Style Over Spend
d) Adams, Steele, Owens & Smith
QVC
a) Quality Value Convenience
b) Quincy, Vaughn & Connor
c) Quotes, Votes & Coats
d) Quality, Vision, Customer
SUPERSTORES
ASDA
Take a guess what Asda could really mean
a) Asquith + Dairies
b) Ask Dad
c) Affleck & Davis
d) Aisle Be Damned
TESCO
Do you know the truth behind Tesco?
a) Towse, Ellis & Scott
b) Trolley Equipment & Service Company
c) TE Stockwell and Jack Cohen
d) Test Corp
ALDI
a) All Deals
b) Albrecht Discount
c) A Little Discount
d) Alan’s Dinners
IKEA
And what about furniture giant Ikea?
a) Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd
b) Into Kitchens Electrics & All
c) Insane Kebab Eaters
d) Ivar Kassett Effektiv Askersund
B&M
a) Bargains & More
b) Bargain Madness
c) Billington & Mayman
d) Booze & Meals
CARS
Know the meaning behind BMW?
BMW
a) Bavarian Motor Works
b) Big Meaty Wheels
c) Bold Mower Ltd
d) British Motor Wholesale
SMART CAR
And what about Smart Car?
a) Speed Made Right
b) Speed Makes Art
c) Smooth Arperator
d) Swatch Mercedes ART
FIAT
Did you know there’s a deeper meaning behind Fiat?
a) Fast In A Task
b) Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino
c) Fine Auto
d) Fix It All Today
MG
a) Morris Garages
b) My Green Machine
c) Mega Gas
d) Move & Groove
