Procter
& Gamble Bids Adieu to SINUS, THIRST and
FLU
by
- Ellen
Rony
-
- Copyright
© 2000 Ellen Rony. All rights reserved.
Initially published by Domain
Notes,
July 2000
-
On June
27, Procter
& Gamble
announced its intention to sell nearly 100 of its
"consumer-friendly" domain names acquired nearly five
years ago. Seeking to tar P&G with the same feathers
often applied to individuals trafficking in domain names,
an article, "Speculation,
Incorporated",
immediately lambasted the corporation as a "smug
speculator" for its registration and imminent sale of
these commonplace domains. This characterization misses
the mark.
The
article ascribes to malice what more likely was an early
misunderstanding of the mnemonic utility of the domain
name system. Procter & Gamble's collection of domain
names does not suggest speculative intent. Rather, it
appears that the consumer products behemoth was unclear
on the concept of the domain name system and registered
words relevant to its business, anticipating that they
would create a cross-reference to its large and diverse
product line.
To place
this into historical context, P&G registered a
plethora of domain names in mid-1995, before
cybersquatting and cyberpiracy entered the Internet
lexicon, and long before trademark paranoia and clout
polluted the domain name registration process with
expansive legal tools such as the Trademark
Cyberpiracy Prevention
Act
and ICANN's Uniform
Dispute Resolution
Policy.
Speculation in domain names was not yet known.
Domain
speculators accumulate an inventory of domain names with
the specific intent to resell them for a hefty proifit in
the brisk aftermarket. Indeed, common domain names have
fared well in the past year, with returns on some high
profile sales reported above 1000-fold on the original
investment. BUSINESS.COM sold for $7.5 million in
November 1999, a jaw-dropping increase over its 1997
record-setting sale of $150,000.
A few
other members of the Million-Dollar Club include:
- BEAUTY.CC
- AUTOS.COM
- LOANS.COM
- KOREA.COM
- WINE.COM
- WALLSTREET.COM
- ALTAVISTA.COM
|
- $1M in
June 2000
- $2.2M in
May 2000
- $3M in
January 2000
- $5M
reported in January 2000
- $3M in
September 1999
- $1.035M in
April 1999
- $3.35M in
July 1998
|
Who among
us anticipated five years ago the 7-figure returns such
domain names could attract in the resale marketplace? In
fact, the big-bucks sales have only become part of the
domain name game in the past two to three
years.
P&G
markets approximately 300 brands to nearly five billion
consumers in more than 140 countries. Its products
include home, baby and feminine care; personal health;
food and beverages; paper and household cleaning. Within
this vast consumer universe are cosmetics and fragrances,
deodorants, anti-perspirants, hair and skin care,
aftershaves, respiratory and gastrointestinal products,
toothpaste, tissues and towels, coffee, chips, pet food,
fabric conditioners, dish and laundry soap, fabric
conditioners, and diapers. This nearly complete array of
fuels and tools to enter, adorn, enhance and alter the
human body clearly motivated P&G's choice of domain
names, not some vision of reseller profits a half decade
later.
P&G's
quarterly earnings reported in January of this year set a
record for the company: $10.59 billion. Does anyone
seriously believe the corporation needs to rely upon
speculation of 100 domain names to boost its bottom line?
The domain
names soon to be put on the block were acquired a month
before Network Solutions imposed an $50 annual
registration fee. To be sure, the list of P&G's
holdings includes many of its familiar brands. Here is a
sampling:
- Domain
Name
-
- ALWAYS.COM
- CLEARASIL.COM
- CRISCO.COM
- FOLGERS.COM
- IVORY.COM
- JIF.COM
- NOXZEMA.COM
- OILOFOLAY.COM
- OLAY.COM
- OLDSPICE.COM
- PAMPERS.COM
- PERT.COM
- PRINGLES.COM
- SPICNSPAN
- TOPJOB.COM
- VAPORUB.COM
- VICKS.COM
- ZEST.COM
|
- Registration
Date
-
- 07-Aug-1995
- 30-Jul-1995.
- 02-Aug-1995
- 07-Aug-1995
- 02-Aug-1995
- 10-Aug-1995
- 09-Aug-1995
- 25-Aug-1995
- 02-Aug-1995
- 02-Aug-1995
- 30-Jul-1995
- 07-Aug-1995
- 02-Aug-1995
- 10-Aug-1995
- 09-Aug-1995
- 10-Aug-1995.
- 25-Aug-1995
- 07-Aug-1995
|
And not a
.NET or .ORG in the lot
The
general connection of P&G's domain names to the
products it markets suggests nothing nefarious in play in
its summer 1995 registrations. Indeed, a marked
correlation emerges between its product categories and
the amusing clutch of human afflictions and body parts
that comprise the P&G domain name
collection.
- Domain
Name
-
- BACTERIA.COM
- BADBREATH.COM
- BEAUTIFUL.COM
- CAVITIES.COM
- COOKINGOIL.COM
- COUGH.COM
- DENTURES.COM
- DISINFECT.COM
- DRY.COM
- FLU.COM
- GERMS.COM
- GUMS.COM
- HEADACHE.COM
- HYGIENE.COM
- PIMPLES.COM
- SCALP.COM
- SINUS.COM
- STAINS.COM
- THIRST.COM
- UNDERARMS.COM
|
- Registration
Date
-
- 16-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
- 09-Aug-1995
- 09-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
- 09-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
- 19-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
- 19-Aug-1995
- 09-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
- 19-Aug-1995
- 16-Aug-1995
|
and
DEODERANT.COM, spelled wrong.
It would,
by the way, be a mistake to assume that P&G's
repertoire had escaped notice before this week's
announcement to list them with broker, Great
Domains.
In 1997, P&G secured the first Annual Cyberserk Award
bestowed by the authors of The Domain Name Handbook
<http://www.domainhandbook.com/awards.html>. In
announcing the dubious distinction, they questioned
whether P&G's 123 commercial domains represented
corporate excess, competitive paranoia, a preemptive
strike against name thieves, or a misunderstanding of the
domain naming structure. Speculation was not even
considered as a motive. The authors included a prescient
statement: "In our opinion, a corporation has a right to
protect its registered trademarks, and this is one way of
doing so, at minimal annual cost. On the other hand, if
this becomes standard practice, all the meaningful words
in the English language will be gobbled up, leaving
late-comers to make do with odd names and abstruse
fabrications."
The
corporate giant is no stranger to intellectual property
debate. Its 100-year old Moon and Stars corporate logo
has been the subject of considerable contention. In the
1980's, rumors circulated that the emblem represented the
Church of Satan and that corporate executives publicly
embraced the precepts of Satanism. A group of talk show
hosts and notable religious leaders--no less than the
likes of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, evangelist Billy Graham
and the Catholic Archbishop of Cincinnati--rose to P&
G'S defense when these stories surfaced.
Could
domain envy be at work here? Who wouldn't wish to hold
the registration for ROMANTIC.COM or SENSUAL.COM in this
frenzied scramble for virtual real estate? By April of
this year, Network Solutions had registered ten million
domain names with no signs that the demand will abate.
192,000 new .COM domain names were registered on June 29
alone. While that day may represent a blip, the growth of
domain demand may soon be on par with that of the world's
population.
Rather
than chastise P&G for making a sound business
decision, just consider the alternatives. P&G could
let those unused domain names collect dust, like unopened
books on a shelf. Or it could simply return those
million-dollar assets to registrar Network Solutions, to
put back into the mainstream. But how would P&G
defend such a decision to its stockholders.?
And by the
way, P&G registered UNDERARMS.COM, not ARMPITS.COM,
as asserted in "Speculation, Incorporated". UNDERARMS.COM
is a page with links to 40 of its brands. In 1995,
Elizabeth Moore, a P&G spokesperson, offered a
rationale for its many domain name registrations: "We are
providing ourselves with more than one avenue to reach
consumers with helpful information. We make 'Sure',
'Secret, and 'Old Spice'. Underarms are important to
us."
But
apparently, P&G can do without SINUS, THIRST and
FLU.
by
Ellen Rony
July 1, 2000
