Comments on: Imagine Greater? I Can’t Imagine Worse

By: Swanksalot

Swanksalot — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:36:31 +0000

ooops, sorry, didn't make the link live

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/03/17/the-venereal-disease-channel-imaginatizes-greatastically/

By: Charla

Charla — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:29:37 +0000

Evidently the commercials did not make the cut either…Jack hopefully throwing out a handful of seeds, watching in amazement as the stalk soared into the sky…then splat, death by giant hairy foot. Now, that’s SciFI not SyFy.

By: Swanksalot

Swanksalot — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:27:39 +0000

Two brief comments:
GSD&M? only agency I know people in, based in Austin.

and SyFy is apparently some sort of venereal disease in Poland:

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/03/17/the-venereal-disease-channel-imaginatizes-greatastically/

Apparently one of the motivating factors to change the name from “scifi” to a phase-changing-vowel-filled homonym was to have a name that was trademarkable and extensible, and it seems no one else in the world actually uses the word “syfy” for anything. Well, except Poland, where the word is used to identify crusty, scabby sexually transmitted diseases, and no, this is not a joke. No one there is going to use the word to associate with their product, any more than someone here might try to market, say, Chlamydia™ brand adhesive bandages.

By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:27:37 +0000

Come to think of it, "Syfy" does sound like a cutesy term for Syphilis - so it only makes sense that it's an actual name for a disease in Poland.

"Shh... you know Uncle Dave was down on 11th and caught himself a case of that syfy. Hasn't walked right for weeks."

As for the company, I'll tell you away from this post to avoid offending the one reader who actually adored the slogan. Gives me plausible deniability or something like that.