Localisation Faux Pas (Archive)

A popular manufacturer of vacuum cleaners, Hoover, sells its products, including a model called the Zyklon, on the European market, including Germany. Since Zyklon is the German word for Cyclone, it would initially appear to be an appropriate choice for a powerful vacuum. However, Zyklon B is the name of the lethal gas used in World War II by Nazis in concentration camps. For this reason, the name may have negative connotations for certain people.

On a similar note, the British shoemaker Umbro received numerous protests about its running shoe, which was also called the Zyklon. Umbro apologised and renamed it in 2002. Apparently, the shoe had been named the Zyklon since 1999, but it had not caused a problem until recently, when the company began to write the name of the product on the shoe itself.

Around the same time, Bosch Siemens Hausgeraete (BSH) had filed two applications with the US Patent & Trademark Office to use the name "Zyklon" across a range of their home products, including gas ovens. Following the Umbro case, the company withdrew its trademark application for the name Zyklon.