v.
To rebrand a product or company to play down or remove its Scottish connotations.
—de-Scottishifying pp.
—de-Scottishification n.
Example Citations:Harris Tweed Hebrides said it had to "de-Scottishify' the product after feedback showed that sales in America could suffer. The company, whose chairman, Brian Wilson, a former government minister, believes the release of Abdelbaset al Megrahi, 57, was a mistake, has removed references to Scotland and Scottish imagery from its promotional material.
—Auslan Cramb, " Harris tweed maker drops 'Scottish' marketing over Lockerbie release: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/scotland/6183208/Harris-tweed-maker-drops-Scottish-marketing-over-Lockerbie-release.html," The Daily Telegraph, September 14, 2009
The Scottish makers of Harris Tweed are changing their ads for the classic cloth.As one company put it, we've had to de-Scottishify the image. Hiding the heritage of the tweed, traditionally made on Scotland's Isle of Harris, is a reaction to American threats to boycott Scottish businesses after the release of the Lockerbie bomber. So out with a model in a plaid tweed posed against Scotland's dramatic mountains. She'll now be inside on a sofa.
—Renee Montagne, " Scottish Fabric Maker Reacts To Lockerbie Backlash: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112805492&ft=1&f=3," NPR, September 14, 2009
Earliest Citation:A manufacturer of Harris Tweed has dropped the word "Scottish" from its US marketing campaign amid fears of a consumer backlash over the release of the Lockerbie bomber, a report said Monday. ..."We have been getting a lot of feedback and we have had to de‑Scottishify the image of the brand. If he had not been released we would not have altered anything," he said.
—" Scottish clothing manufacturer caught in Lockerbie bomber row: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090913/wl_uk_afp/britainlibyausattacksmanufacturing," Agence France Presse, September 13, 2009
Notes:A tip o' the tam o'shanter to Ben Schott of Schott's Vocabulary for spying this term: http://schott.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/de-scottishify/.
Related Words:brandalism
de-elect
de-orbit
Categories:Branding
Geography