Case Study: Suggestive Trademarks: TERMINIX

So-called “suggestive” trademarks make very strong marks because of the associations that they conjure up for the consumer. A suggestive mark alludes to a quality, feature, or end use of the goods or services, without coming right out and stating it. While the consumer must ultimately use his or her imagination to arrive at the type or purpose of the goods with a suggestive trademark, the mark itself “suggests” via the use of words — usually fanciful or non-sensical — an image of the goods associated with that trademark.

A favorite example of a suggestive mark that I have used in the past as an example is JAGUAR for automobiles — I like this as an example because it showcases the sleek, fast sexiness of the sports car to which the mark is applied. The JAGUAR mark conjures for the consumer a fast, somewhat exotic vehicle. TERMINIX is another favorite example of a suggestive mark. It combines the word “terminate” or “termite” with the word “nix” to arrive at a word that suggests the eradication of termites — or perhaps other insects like termites.

To “nix” something is to knock it out, to erase it, to turn it down. And the “termite” bit speaks for itself. So the brand conjures up a service that gets rid of termites. Indeed, this is a very good connotation for TERMINIX, because this is exactly what the TERMINIX service does. Without coming out and saying, “We kill termites and other pests,” Terminix tells a story in the mind of the consumer. This is what “suggestive” trademarks do best!

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