Are Your Trademarks “Suggestive?”

So-called “suggestive” trademarks make great brands, because they suggest rather than describe certain qualities or uses of the goods or services. Suggestive marks help inform the consumer about the goods, without telling the consumer outright what the goods are for. This allows the consumer to paint a mental picture of the qualities or purposes of the goods, and allows them to mentally engage with the brand.

One of the best examples of this is JAGUAR for cars. The word “jaguar” conjures an image of a sleek, fast, sexy and powerful animal — all qualities that the aspiring sports car owner would like to have for her car, right? Maybe the motor purrs a little, too. It’s a very evocative, emotionally-compelling name for a high-end sports car, and that’s why I think it makes a great brand.

Another of my favorite brands is BRILLO for stainless steel soap pads. The word “brillo” sounds a bit like “brilliant” which means “shining.” And don’t we all want things to shine when we clean them? It’s also reminiscent of the Italian verb “brillare” which means “to shine.” The fricative “BR” sound at the beginning sounds a little abrasive, which these also are. The box, with its bright blue, red and yellow color scheme suggests to me a little bit of fun — and don’t we all want cleaning to be fun, or at least not drudgery? Taken as a whole, the name and the box design and logo seem fun and shiny, and attract me as a buyer.

Suggestive marks don’t come outright and describe the goods, and they are often “arbitrary” marks — marks that are real words, but arbitrarily chosen as trademarks for goods or services. Examples of such marks include APPLE (simple, wholesome interfaces?) and the aforementioned JAGUAR. They make great trademarks because they conjure an image in the consumer’s mind without the registrability problems of a descriptive mark.

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