What's in a name?
What's a snazzy product without a snazzy name? In order to get the attention of American housewives in the late 30s, you had to hit them with razzmatazz and jazzy jingles. Jay put out an APB that he'd give $100 in cold, hard cash to anyone who could come up with a name for his canned pork shoulder product. After several hundred were collected, they had "Brunch" and "Baby Grand." What kind of knuckleheads were these people?
The New Year's Eve Party
The clock was ticking. Jay was getting nervous. So he threw a New Year's Eve bash with a special rule. If you wanted a free drink, you had to write down a name idea. The little slips of paper piled up quickly. Jay was later quoted as saying, "Along about the fourth or fifth drink they began showing some imagination." Still, it was mostly crap. Good thing Kenneth Daigneau found his way to the party.
He who nameth SPAM
Kenneth Daigneau was an actor from New York and was probably quite dapper. Legend has it that he blurted out the word "SPAM" at some point during Jay's Party. The Earth must have stopped moving for just a moment as everyone's eyes turned to his, knowing in their hearts that their lives would never be the same. Or maybe nobody heard it but Jay. Nevertheless, Jay loved the name SPAM and Kenneth was $100 richer.