Geoff Duncan

British writer Scarlett Thomas wrote a novel called PopCo, which is about "creative-type" employees of a large (fictional) toy and entertainment company. The book is a fun read, and works in plenty about codes, puzzles, brand marketing, and 18th century piracy, among other things.

PopCo entertained me on many levels, not least among which was the fact colleague Glenn Fleishman founded a company called POPCO more than a decade ago. But one of the book's big "reveals" (semi-spoiler alert!) is the concept of NoCo, which I somewhat flippantly characterize as a "worldwide vegan slacker conspiracy." (Getting closer and closer to being vegan myself, you'd think I could relate. Or, uh, not. Anyway.)

The NoCo idea is that "creative types" and intelligent young professionals are combatting Big Evil Corporations (and the harm they do to humanity and the planet) by subverting the companies' efforts in subtle, wonderfully 20-something ironic ways. Like classic resistance groups, NoCo is organized into small cells with very little inter-cell communication. (This is one of the reasons they wish to recruit the book's protagonist.) NoCo operatives are predominantly vegan (or at least vegetarian), and, when they get the opportunity, they shoot their employers in the foot. Some acts of resistance are as simple (and as juvenile) goofing off, not working as quickly as they could, infecting corporate PCs with viruses, or spilling soda into keyboards. But one example was an advertising campaign:

"One great NoCo success in advertising involved a campaign where the creative team used really shocking social-realist images to advertise clothes. Everyone said, 'Bloody hell, it's a bit much that this company is trying to profit from images of people dying,' and the brand lost market share."

Thomas may be referring to various Benetton campaigns which featured images of an AIDS-ravaged patient and a death row inmate, among others. The campaigns were controversial and, I'm sure, cost Benetton some existing and potential customers. But what stuch in my head from Thomas's book was the idea of a major advertising campaign as deliberate corporate sabotage.

Isn't that just…delicious?

Then last week, Nintendo announced its next-generation gaming console, long code-named "Revolution," would officially be named "Wii."

All I could think was "NoCo! It's gotta be NoCo. They actually exist!" Nintendo says the cutesy Wii is pronounced like "we," and the name emphasizes the console is for everyone, not just traditional video game players. (And, to their credit, Nintendo has been trying to branch out into non-traditional markets, including seniors.) But the rest of their public rationale reads like exactly the tripe marketing writers feed executives to make them buy into a campaign. Most of the time, executives call Bullshit! and send the writers back to the drawing board (or hire another agency). But, sometimes, the executives bite, and writers giggle behind their back for decades.

Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.

Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play.

And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.

I admit that I immediately conjured an image of kids rampaging through the front door, all excited "go Wii" in the living room—and potty humor from various Web sites and pundits is even worse. Veteran gamers seem to be pronouncing the name "Why-ee?!" but, thinking about it, Nintendo doesn't care about veteran gamers: those gamers are going to soup-up PCS or buy a Playstation 3 or an Xbox 360. Nintendo is trying to focus on a mainstream market which includes folks who wouldn't normally play video games. And that means casual, fun, whimsical entertainment from a casual, whimsical gaming console...and Wii carries that thought pretty effectively, potty humor aside. You couldn't use that name to sell tactical combat simulations.

Nintendo has been struggling to deflect criticism (singing "Wii shall overcome?") while claiming the name will grow on the industry and plenty of brands have oddball names. (Google comes to mind, along with the edge-of-the-toilet-seat Fannie Mae). Nintendo also notes "ii" means "good" in Japanese and the name is homophonous with the French oui for "yes."

One thing's for sure: Nintendo captured quite a bit of attention, press coverage, and product awareness with the name announcement, and, at that level, if NoCo is involved, Wii won't be one their greatest successes.