Monday, March 8, 2010

Clean-n-Seat!


I saw this sanitizer yesterday, at a toilet cubicle in NUH. I did a double-take as the phrasing, 'Clean-n-Seat', if interpreted as 'clean and sit'--- as the contents of the dispenser was supposed to be used in that manner, to clean the toilet seat before the user sits on it, then the spelling of 'sit' as 'Seat', is not primed in this manner for me. However being a brand name, it may be read as a pseudo pun on the word 'sit' and 'seat' which sound similar when pronounced by most Singaporeans who are guilty of sloppy speech. Hence, as the sanitizer is to be used to clean the seat before sitting, hence the aforementioned interpretation, and will also result in a clean seat upon usage, there is some form of word play whereby 'Seat' is meant as both the verb 'sit' in the 1st interpretation, and meant as the noun 'seat' in the clean seat interpretation. It is rather clever, I suppose, as in the Singapore context, people will generally be able to fully appreciate the creative brand name. I assume that this is a Singapore brand, but am unable to confirm this as I was unable to locate this brand upon running a Google search of it. If anyone knows where this brand originates from, do let me know! It will help me further analyze this hypothesis that 'Seat' was used due to it's similar pronounciation as 'Sit' in the Singaporean context.

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