One difference between marketers and trademark lawyers

Marketers like ubiquity and recognize that top-of-mind status is not the same as true genericity.  Bill Morris, Explosion of Brands and Erosion of Soul:

[T]he Independence Bowl became the Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl, lovingly known as the Weed Whacker Bowl. ... “Over all, it was a net benefit,” Evin Ellis, the company’s marketing communications manager, [said]. “We consider Weed Eater the Kleenex of weed whacking.” . . . Corporations are now willing to shell out up to $5 million a year to have their name attached to a college football bowl game because they want the brand to become so common and recognizable that it enters the language as the thing itself. The dream is to become ... generic.

Last ellipsis in original.  See also: