Are Bloody Knuckles Better than Sex?

A product by any other name is just as effective

Hello, Gorgeous!

Back in the early aughts I was charged with developing Christina Aguilera’s first line of cosmetics to correspond with her first concert tour (the line never made it to market, but that’s a story for a different time).

This was before she was Xtina or considered herself Dirrty. She’d just won the Grammy for Best New Artist and was about to embark on the aforementioned tour (That’s another story for a different time). Naturally, the tagline I chose for the makeup line was “What a Girl Wants.” Only it wasn’t. Christina nixed the entire thing and eventually partnered with Fetish cosmetics instead on a Sears co-branded launch.

Schadenfreude aside (the line tanked), I frequently use this example when I teach cosmetics marketing classes. Naming cosmetics lines and beauty products can be extremely tricky, and some definitely work better than others.

Here are two I’ve been thinking about.

Bloody Knuckles by Duke Cannon

Duke Cannon is a tongue-in-cheek cheeky brand that celebrate…