Ulta-Phulta

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I haven't come across people who actually loves to have fun with words. Of course there are few who do have fun with words, unfortunately I don't know many of them. Maybe I lack the basic skill of networking.

Anyway, I was reading about Palindrome and Semordnilap. Palindrome is a word or a phrase which has the property of reading the same from either direction. Eg. Malayalam. Semordnilap is a word or a phrase that spells a different word or phrase backwards (contrasted with Palindrome). Eg. Elbert - treble

What has this got to do with brand communication? Is that what you're asking?

Well, top of mind example of a Semordnilap in the Indian context is ROMANOV vodka, which was creatively executed as VONAMOR. A great campaign indeed. Another great example is EVIAN which was spoofed as NAIVE.

Great Indian examples of Brand Palindrome is LIRIL, the la la la soap. AVIVA Life Insurance is another.

Brings me back to the question how can advertising take this small clues for better communication and execution.

Here are two bad examples of Semordnilap:
1. Naomi Campbell or Naomi Watts or Naomi Klein starts a new line of Lingerie and Perfume under the brand name 'NAOMI,' the slogan reads 'I MOAN.'
2. UB Group will launch its new ready-to-drink rum brand called 'RED RUM' with a baseline 'MURDER.'

If you come across similar words and wordplays, do let me know.