Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Was It Something I Said?

About a month ago, I blogged about a new company that's taken over several gas stations/mini marts here in the Scranton area.  They took the name Va Va.  Cute.  Creative.

At the time I questioned how the Wawa people felt about that.  The names are awfully similar, but there was no way you could confuse a Wawa with a Va Va.  On top of that, there are no Wawa stores in the Scranton area. 

Take a look at what I found the other day.  The store remains.  The name is gone.  This is the Va Va on Pittston Avenue in South Scranton.  The store on the Scranton/Carbondale Highway in Dickson City has also lost its name.

What's up with that?  Did the Va Va people get a call and/or cease and desist letter from the Wawa legal team?  I don't know.  I'm just speculating.  Big companies do like to protect their names, and I can't blame them.  They put a lot of time, effort, and especially money into building the brand.

The name isn't the only thing that's changed.  Gas is up 47 cents in one month.  A gas station by any other name is still expensive.