Max iPad (oops!)

Name of new Apple tabled evokes unintended associations

Let’s play word association, OK? Here’s one: iPad. Your first reaction? For many, the name of the new Apple tablet did not conjure up images of svelte high-tech e-readers. Rather, it brought to mind associations with feminine hygiene products. “I care about words and their connotations, but you don’t have to be in junior high to make this leap. A lot of women when they hear the word ‘pad’ are going to think about feminine hygiene,” said Robin Bernstein, a Long Island, NY-based corporate speech writer. In fact, in the hours after Apple announced its new iPad, “iTampon” became one of the most popular topics on Twitter. A wave of mock feminine hygiene commercials—one, depicting a pad with an Apple logo on it—also followed. Apple has declined to comment on the subject.

New York Times