Specsavers trademark application highlights the power of using language as a logo

Specsavers’ application to trademark the word "should’ve" has been accepted by the Intellectual Property Office.

This isn’t new. Carlsberg managed the same trick in 2010 with the word "probably". But it is news, because the idea of a brand owning a word is a bit mysterious. And it doesn’t need to involve lawyers. In fact, there are plenty of examples of brands owning words in people’s heads, and not always with the superscript TM to prove it.

"Wings" is as synonymous with Red Bull as that blue and silver colour scheme or those hand-drawn ads. "Simples" is as Compare The Meerkat as Aleksandr Orlov himself. And "Schhh" is as Schweppes as that bright yellow label.

Then there’s "break" for KitKat, "priority" for O2 and "priceless" for Mastercard, to name just a few. Celebrities do it too. I say "pukka", you say Jamie (even if he’d rather you didn’t these days).

I say "garlic bread", you say Peter Kay. This hasn’t happened by mistake. Whether you’ve trademarked it or not, owning a word can bring powerful results. Read more at Campaign Live.