Hidden marketing

Common words that started as brand names, can you guess them all?

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Ever asked for a Band-Aid when you really meant any bandage? Or told someone to Google something even if they used another search site? We all do it, and we don’t even notice, and that’s because some everyday words we use are actually trademarks that belong to specific companies. Here, we’ve just gathered just a few, but you may end up realizing you sound like a walking commercial more often than you thought.

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Cold weather hits, your lips get dry, and you ask for a ChapStick. But unless it says ChapStick on the tube, you are probably just using a regular lip balm. Wyeth LLC owns the trademark, and they made it official in 2009. By then, the name was already rolling off everyone’s tongue, so it stuck for good.

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Every cut, scrape, and blister seems to call for a Band-Aid, even when the box actually says something else. Johnson & Johnson trademarked the name in 1925, and it became the word we all use without thinking. Kids, especially, never say "adhesive bandage." It is always a Band-Aid.

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That little blue-and-white jar might not really be Vaseline, but who is checking the fine print? Unilever owns the name, and technically, it just refers to one brand of petroleum jelly. Yes, that’s the generic term. Still, most of us reach for the name Vaseline whether we are soothing dry skin or covering a scrape.

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Moving boxes are stressful, but Bubble Wrap makes up for it. Sealed Air Corporation owns the name, trademarked in 1983, but we call just about any sheet of cushioning bubbles Bubble Wrap. And let’s be honest, we care less about the trademark and more about the fun of popping it.

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"Throw it in the Crock-Pot" has become kitchen shorthand for slow cooking. Sunbeam registered the name in 1972, and it quickly became part of family dinner traditions. The generic term is slow cooker, but to most of us, Crock-Pot is the only name that matters.

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Table tennis might be the proper term, but Ping-Pong is the one most of us grew up saying. The trademark dates back to 1931 and belongs to Escalade Sports in America. Still, when friends set up a folding table in the basement, nobody calls it table tennis. Ping-Pong just feels right.

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Hot summer afternoon, kids run to the freezer, and what do they want? A Popsicle. Unilever owns the trademark, registered in 2001, but really, they are ice pops. Try calling them that and see how many eye rolls you get. Popsicle is the word that stuck.

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That rip of Velcro is instantly recognizable. The company Velcro Industries trademarked the name in 1975, but technically, it is called a hook-and-loop fastener. Try saying that three times fast. That’s why Velcro won the word war, simply because it is fun to say and easy to remember.

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When was the last time you told someone to "Bing it"? Exactly. Google became such a dominant name that it turned into a verb almost overnight. They registered the trademark in 2004, but by now "Google it" means "look it up," no matter which search engine you use.

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Not every real estate agent is a Realtor. That word was trademarked in 1950 by the National Association of Realtors, and it refers only to members of the group. Still, most people toss it around for any agent who shows them a house. It is another case where the trademarked name became the everyday word.

No problemo!

"Whatchoo Talkin' 'Bout, Willis?!" Do you remember these TV series lines?

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Perhaps because they appeared on our screens repeatedly, TV shows had a way of imprinting certain catchphrases in our memories. These expressions worked as a primitive version of what we now know as memes: little ideas that could be used in multiple situations and were often funny or curious. Shows like The X Files, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, or Sledge Hammer had catchphrases and famous lines that every viewer will remember. Take a look at the following 12 and see which ones you recall!

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The most famous cartoon family since 1989 has created more than one catchphrase throughout its long history. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie have gone through numerous phases of their lives and tackled social, political, economic, and other situations with their signature Simpsons humor.

But, without a doubt, Homer is the highlight of the animated sitcom. He is not the smartest man alive, but he has some brilliantly funny moments. A sign of something going wrong is Homer's angry "D'oh!" which has become a part of pop culture.

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The brilliant combination of sci-fi with the supernatural that was The X-Files marked the 1990s TV, thanks in no small part to FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who looked into unresolved cases with extraterrestrial origins.

Dana Scully said the famous line, "The truth is out there, but so are lies," and the first part of the quote became the tagline of The X-Files.

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While the phrase was made famous by Jack Nicholson in The Shining, "Here's Johnny," dates back to 1960s television, when it was first uttered by Ed McMahon to introduce audiences to Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

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In 1999, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire debuted as a two-week show but, due to its massive success, became a regular series. The question, "Is that your final answer?" was asked by the host Regis Philbin, and has since become a phrase used in multiple situations of everyday life.

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The Addams Family was a 1964 television show based on a series of New Yorker cartoons depicting a family full of macabre interests and supernatural powers, that to this day still remain in our minds thanks to films, animated movies, comic books, and more.

While The Addams Family is known for its peculiar characters, there's one line that everyone remembers, which is "You rang?", uttered by the show's butler, Lurch.

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Few phrases carry as much kindness as "Won't you be my neighbor?" from the children's show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Fred Rogers created the show and served as host, writer, puppeteer, voice actor, and musical composer.

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The "Adventures of Superman" made its television debut in 1952, and this line was part of the opening title sequence. The voice-over narration continued: "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!"

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Walter Cronkite signed off his"CBS Evening News" shows with the words: "That's the way it is." Originally, Cronkite used to encourage viewers to read their newspapers for more details, but network executives were not happy with his suggestion. Cronkite eventually agreed to change his salutation to the one that is now in the annals of history.

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A running gag, this question was repeatedly asked by child actor Gary Coleman in "Diff'rent Strokes" to his on-screen brother, played by Todd Bridges, whenever he said something confusing or dumb.

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This phrase, and its many similar iterations, was uttered by the villain of the day, at the end on each Scooby Doo episode. This happened because every episode had a similar structure: the Scooby gang went to investigate some paranormal activity, encountered fake ghosts and monsters, and went on to unmask them.

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Other than "jumping the shark", the pop culture favorite show "Happy Days" also created the catchphrase "Ayyy", as uttered by the Fonz, its popular character. The phrase had several meanings, ranging from an expression of disgust to a celebratory exclamation.

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This half-hour comedy about a police detective who went too far, every single time, but with humorous results, was only aired for a couple of seasons, but left a mark on its audience. Sledge Hammer carried a .44 magnum everywhere he went and said, "Trust me, I know what I'm doing" before doing all sorts of insane things.