"Depend" or "depends" underwear?
- Carter Tweed
Alternate:
Depends
Current:
Depend
Depend/depends
Everyone remembers this brand name as "Depends", yet when you see it today it is the singular "Depend".
Searching the internet throws up several references, and images, of the "remembered" name.
One explanation could be the phrase used in common language has become ingrained to such a level it is taken as the real name. For example, one would usually say "I am just going out to buy some Depends" even if the brand name is the singular "Depend". Repeating this often enough could lead to the word "Depends" being used in all circumstances, including remembering what the actual brand name is.
Since 1984
The Depend brand was the adult version of Huggies, which Kimberly-Clark introduced for infants in 1978. It has a 50% share of the US adult disposable incontinence market. The aggressive advertising campaign, which ran for 20 years, was fronted by June Allyson and widely praised from removing the stigma from the subject.
The design of the product has changed significantly since launch, with each incremental improvement being to make it slimmer each time.From 2014, the company has shifted the focus of it's target audience to those under 50, since its market research shows half those with the problem are in that age bracket.
A marketing first
Depend launched the largest integrated marketing campaign in brand history on March 30, 2009, featuring TV, online, print, direct mail, in-store communication and public relations elements.
This is one of a class of Mandela Effect which specifically relate to a word being singular or plural. People used to saying it will naturally add the "s" in their spoken language, foe example "I'll get a pack of depends from the store", "Oh no - we're out of depends" and so on. Without paying attention to what;s on the packet, it soon becomes automatic to think the "s" suffix really is part of the name.