The limitations of descriptive names

According to this ad, the OC Autoshow is “more than an auto show.”
- Ad for an auto show at a bus stop. Thoughts?
- Ad (and website) contain very little evidence that the show is anything more than an auto show
- Obviously, contradiction between the name and the headline (X ≠ X+Y, where Y ≠ 0)
How many times have you seen some variation of this headline on an ad, or this sentiment expressed somewhere in marketing materials? In this instance it’s probably just a lazy cliché (may I recommend “OC Autoshow: Experience the difference!”), but it also highlights an inherent weakness of descriptive names. What happens when International Business Machines wants to sell more than business machines? (They call themselves “IBM,” I suppose—kind of like UPS is more than just a parcel service and KFC is more than just fried chicken.) Apple doesn’t have that problem (although they must have at one time faced the challenge of explaining that they weren’t an apple company). Or when Pizza Hut wants to sell pasta and wings? Wouldn’t be a big issue for Domino’s Pizza to become “Domino’s,” which is essentially how they’re known anyway.
Just something worth keeping in mind when considering a descriptive name (or dime-a-dozen ad headline).
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True that descriptive names can limit growth, but if you’re launching a new entity/product/service it sure does help for people to know what you’re selling, especially if you don’t have the unlimited marketing resources to make sure everyone knows what your iPod or Zune is…
Missing the perspicacious insights – it’s been a while.