One of the most exciting things about travel is getting exposed to different cultures. Often this exposure goes hand in hand with learning that everybody has their very own approach on things, even when it comes to the use of brand names. While in the western world people grow up with the concepts of copyright and trademark, in Asia on the other hand, copying literally everything seems to be fair game. The thought of owning names or ideas seems strangely out-of-place in the far east and the result is often a really interesting mix between borrowed brands and entirely unrelated uses. If this refreshingly liberal approach is good or bad, is left for everyone to decide, but at least it gives us such great inventions as Google Fast Food or Seven Eleven Dance Bar.
Food Brands
Seven Eleven
For some reason Seven Eleven stores are immensely popular in Asia and in Thailand they can not only be found on every single corner but sometimes even right across from each other in the middle of the same street. How they all survive is a great mystery. The only sure thing is that they even spread into countries where Seven Elevens normally don’t exist, leaving it up to the locals to create their own adaptations.
Seven Eleven Dance Restaurant in Lake Side Pokhara, Nepal
Nepal is always good for some creative inventions and the Seven Eleven Dance Restaurant with Philippine beer is no exception. The only curious thing is that the place is not open from 7 to 11, as expected, but from 6.30 to 11.30…
Seven Eleven Restaurant Sign in the New Town of Galle, Sri Lanka
Unfortunately no dance is on offer here, but at least Sri Lanka seems to be on the same page with Nepal, thinking that Seven Eleven should definitely be a restaurant. Why not, especially if they are opening and closing at the matching times…
Hand painted Seven Eleven Sign in a small Village in Nepal
In this case the hand-made Seven Eleven sign actually refers to a little mom and pop shop in a mountain village in Nepal. Luckily they not only have groceries to offer, but also such great things as email internet…
Kentucky Fried Chicken
Big KFC Restaurant Sign of Krabi Fried Chicken in Thailand
In relation to the quite inventive Seven Eleven uses, this one comes almost completely expected. Krabi Fried Chicken not only makes logical sense, but also perfectly describes what it is and what’s on the menu…
AFC Fried Chicken almost hit the Spot in Yangon, Myanmar
The AFC shop in Yangon on the other hand raises some questions. Sure, the letter A and K sound very similar, especially to a non-native speaker, but maybe here they simply thought that it’s American Fried Chicken…
Kentucky Fried Chicken Street Vendor in Mataram on Lombok, Indonesia
This little mix up would obviously never happen in Indonesia, where even the little street vendor understands: If you are selling fried chicken, it needs to say Kentucky all over the shop…
Mc Donald’s
Creative Yac Donald’s Restaurant in Kagbeni Village of Lower Mustang, Nepal
At the same time, Nepal also knows that if you are selling burgers, the name Donald’s needs to be involved. If a yak burger joint in the mountains of Nepal is really a necessity seems still in question, but at least the naming is quite original…
Google Fast Food in a Tandori Restaurant in Kathmandu, Nepal
Now this is actually one of my favorites, even if the connection between Google and fast food seems not the most obvious. But who knows, maybe this little Tandori restaurant is actually the best place in town to search for some food…
Clothing Brands
MTV Fashion House in the Hill Station of Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar
Here the connection between MTV and fashion is a bit more logical as people on TV usually wear clothes. It just seems questionable if the fashion sold in a small town in Myanmar has anything to do with the clothing seen on an American television channel…
Rolls of Brand Labels for Clothes in a Shop in Kathmandu, Nepal
This evidence gave rise to the suspicion that my woolen socks and hand knitted scarf were actually neither North Face nor Gore-Tex, even if the label said so. Operating by the theme “If foreigners want to buy brand name clothing, we give them brand names on everything”, Nepal seems way ahead of the curve and for apparent reason all items are considered as “Kathmandu North Fake”…
Car Brands
The use of car brands appears to be more regulated, even in Asia. The big exception to this rule seems to be Myanmar and some of the adaptations on the streets are quite interesting to see.
Wanna-be Mercedes Benz Pick-up Truck in Hsipaw, Myanmar
Everybody knows that great tucks come with a Mercedes star in the front. So, obviously even the guys in a village in Myanmar who put together entire trucks by hands, stick a Mercedes star on it and paint it. This makes actually perfect sense to me…
TGI Taunggyi Jeep on the Streets of Yangon, Myanmar
I would certainly never claim to know all the car models that Jeep produces, but for some reason this TGI Taunggyi vehicle doesn’t look quite like something that the actual Jeep Company would even know about…
Fake Hummer SUV called Honour in Yangon, Myanmar
This car really amuses me ever since I saw it for the first time on the streets of Yangon. It looks almost exactly like a Hummer, only scaled down to the size of a regular car. But best of all, it is called Honour. If it’s really honorable to “borough” an existing car design, is once more left for everyone to decide. At least Asia seems to have a refreshingly liberal approach in that regard as well.
Have you ever danced at Seven Eleven, eaten at Google or driven an Honour?
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I wanna eat at Yak Donald’s!
These are so awesome.
Raymond @ Man On The Lam recently posted…101 Stocking Stuffers for Men Who Love Travel
Thanks a lot Raymond! Of course you want to eat at the YacDonald’s, two portions I am guessing… 😉
Brilliant! I lot lots of imitation brands when travelling around Asia yet I’ve never noticed fake vehicles before – wow.
I have seen a WikiPizza in Sardinia and a TeaBucks in China.
The Guy recently posted…Today You Shall Be With Me In Paradise
Thanks, Asia really provides an interesting mix between the liberal vehicles and the brand names! I have never heard of a WikiPizza, but TeaBucks almost makes sense, especially when considering that Asia is actually not that big on coffee…
Love this post. You don’t have to look far for funny chicken shop names. Here in London there are loads of Louisiana Fried Chicken or Alabama Fried Chicken shops. As long as the chicken comes from America I guess…
Jaklien recently posted…A Floating Book Shop in London
That does sound in fact quite funny Jaklien. I had no idea that such creative brand names exist even in London, but as you said, apparently the main thing seems to be that the chicken is from the US and deep fried…
Haha! Awesome post!
We were fooled in India by their liberal approach to brand names. Just before catching a flight from Bangkok to Kolkata, we decided to book a hotel online to avoid wasting time looking for one upon arrival. We found a Holiday Inn and immediately booked it (“finally, a name I can recognize” I said). This fantastic Holiday Inn had no relation whatsoever with the US chain. We got into our room, spotted the first cockroach within twelve seconds… the rest is history.
Mediodiablo recently posted…Passing on GoPro and staying on the f*cking bus
That really does sound like a proper India experience! It’s kind of funny how brand names in the western world have a certain exclusive value, while in the east they just jump on the same ship when they see the chance. That fine Holiday Inn would have never had so many customers without the name and you would not have had such a great travel experience to talk about…
I enjoyed reading this post.
There’s also a lot of these in my country, Philippines. If I had the chance, I will also take pictures of them. LOL!
JONtotheworld recently posted…7 Reasons Why You Should Travel and Explore the Philippines
Thanks a lot Jon! Please do take some photos of the liberal branding from the Philippines as well, I am sure I am not the only one who would love to see it…
Love this post! I was already laughing, but when I got to Yac Donald’s I started having flashbacks.
Shelly Rivoli recently posted…Holiday Travel with Babies and Toddlers: Tips for Staying Safe (and Sane) with Friends and Family
Thank you very much Shelly! Sorry about the flashbacks, but it’s great that you could laugh about Asia’s branding efforts. Is it safe to assume that you have been to Nepal as well?
Bahahhahahaaaaa! Love this post. I have got to try YakDonald’s sometime. This is getting tweeted for sure… Classic.
Thanks a lot John! It’s great that you like this unique YacDonald’s version and the other liberal brand names…
I love this! I’ve seen similar “branding” in Africa, especially on the Matatus (local transport busses). Kentucky Para Bola is my favorite!
Sarah Fazendin recently posted…How to visit the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve in Mexico
It’s great to hear that you like the Kentucky branding variation, Sarah! I have heard before that Africa has a similar liberal approach as well. Unfortunately I haven’t seen it yet. But I will definitely make sure to look out for the Matatus, thanks for the tip…
hahaha yeah we noticed this everywhere – anything goes in Asia. In India we found a lot of stores called FaceBook with the logo being the thumbs up ‘like’ symbol. funny!
Megsy recently posted…10 Foodie Photos To Inspire You To Visit Emilia Romagna, Italy
It’s great to hear that you also saw some liberal use of brand names in Asia, Megsy! Unfortunately I never saw the facebook shops in India, but I will definitely keep my eyes open for them next time when I am there…
I personally love it all … hope they don’t crack down on it like Starbucks did in Bangkok!
Caroline recently posted…Golf In Greece – Where To Go
Thanks a lot Caroline! Unfortunately I am not familiar with the Starbucks story, but I heard of a few other incidents concerning brand names in Bangkok when I was there last. Well, I guess this liberal approach is one of the things that makes Asia such an interesting place to visit…
Hahaha I love this post! It makes me laugh so much when ever I see an Asian ‘brand’! I do love a 7 Eleven though… I am in the Philippines now and would love a cheese and ham toastie!
Sally Munt recently posted…29 reasons to travel the world right now
Comes to my mind… I once saw a shop called “PARANOIA” in the town of Kalambaka, at Meteora.
AS for 7Eleven shops… wow, they’re so popular in Asia. I remember them from Japan, Singapore…