Four years ago, on July 25th, we hit the road with the Original Cricket Cookie for our first SuperZoo trade show. We consider this our anniversary because we were finally able to give out our product to consumers. This day is special to our company and has us looking back at how far we’ve come. This year we thought we’d share some of the memories and reveal how we got our name and logo. Not surprisingly, a brand’s name and logo are very important in shaping a customer’s perception of the product. We thought we’d give you the inside scoop behind our process and perhaps demystify the experience for aspiring business owners.
We get a lot of comments about our name Jiminy’s. From “how cute” to… more combative comments (there are A LOT of people attached to that little cricket from Pinocchio), our name choice always seems to be a topic of conversation. Jiminy’s was first suggested in a 2016 brainstorming session but not taken too seriously, as everyone assumed it was long gone. Nonetheless, a google search ensued and we were happily mistaken- the url was available! On top of that, we were able to get the same handle across social media platforms.
Huzzah! One question remained though and it was a biggie – could Disney potentially sue us? This would require a bit more research.
It turns out Disney doesn’t have a trademark on the name Jiminy’s. “Jiminy Cricket” is actually an old fashioned expression dating back to the 1800’s. In fact, in Disney’s 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Sneezy exclaims “Jiminy Crickets!” after finding Snow White asleep in their house. Three years later Pinocchio and its magical cricket hit the screens. So, while many people associate Jiminy Cricket with Disney, the phrase has been a part of the American landscape for over 100 years. We can, however, thank Disney for doing their part to elevate the reputation and esteem of crickets and insects alike (shout out to A Bug’s Life).
With our name in place, we now needed to create a logo. Logos are the visual ‘face’ of the products and incredibly important to a brand. We drew up several drafts before choosing the logo we have today. We hope you enjoy this glimpse of the process along with the different versions (some comical!) of our logo. Enjoy!
