15 BEST KNOCK-OFF BRANDS EVER

15 Best Knock-Off Brands Ever
By Julian, Business Pundit, 27 November 2012.

We’ve all come across knock-off products, whether in a seedy market abroad or somewhere a lot closer to home. Remembering this, the following 15 products gave us a giggle - in some cases, because we couldn’t believe how awful they are.

Yet besides enjoying the ingenuity of these copycats, we’ll also delve into some of the facts behind knock-offs: where they come from, who buys them, and how they affect the real thing. From Obama Fried Chicken to Crust toothpaste, these are the cream of the counterfeit crop.

15. Johnnie Worker Red Labial Whisky

We’re not quite sure how this counterfeit whiskey tastes! The name is certainly amusing, which adds to the, ahem, charm of many counterfeit products. They’re often bought and photographed by tourists who want to give their friends a laugh back home.

Business Insider reports that night markets are “some of the most popular tourist spots in China.” What’s more, similar markets exist in many other countries around the world, including Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia. We suggest you check them out if you ever visit Asia.

14. Sunbucks

You have to love the dragon on the sign for this Chinese take on Starbucks Coffee, which adds its own cultural twist to the counterfeit brand. Maybe the enterprising owner of this knock-off cafe thought his logo alteration would keep him from a slap on the wrist! A local coffee store chain in China was ordered to cough up 500,000 yuan ($62,000) for using a suspiciously Starbucks-like logo as well as the name “Xingbake” (which is a translation of Starbucks into Chinese). Perhaps our Sunbucks friend is hoping to outfox the Seattle-based coffee giant.

13. Arm & Hatchet

This is one knock-off brand that’s so cunningly disguised that it could easily hoodwink unaware shoppers. By the time they get home with their nice new box of what they thought was Arm & Hammer, it’ll be too late! Actually, though, somewhat oddly, Arm & Hatchet is sold in China, where we’re not sure the population would recognize the trademark packaging as being one of the leading household product brands in the US.

12. WRLGLEYS DOUBIEMLNT

The convincing packaging here doesn’t hide the deliciously hideous misspelling. By now, it may come as no surprise to learn that this knock-off gum is sold in China. According to The New York Times, 66% of the 92 million counterfeit items confiscated at the borders of the European Union in 2003 originated from China and Hong Kong. The United States cited similar statistics.

11. LGG

At a glance, the Gs on this pair of jeans could almost pass for Es. This funny imitation version of the famous American jeans brand even went as far as putting Kansas on the label. Whether they were actually made there or not (and somehow we seriously doubt they were), it adds a bit more authenticity (or hilarity) to the counterfeit product. Real Lee jeans were actually first fabricated in Salina, Kansas, and the company’s current headquarters is in Merriam, KS, close to Kansas City [USA].

10. KicKer

Cast a casual eye over this next piece of genius packaging design and the Korean candy bar in the bottom of the picture looks suspiciously like a Kit Kat. Apparently, however, the taste gives it away. Kit Kat fanatics have called the KicKer “sub-par” and explain their low expectations with the reasoning, “It is a knock-off after all.” Who are we to argue?

9. Action Pad

We love this marvellous Chinese impersonation of Steve Jobs - complete with signature black sweater. We’d never expect the “Action Pad” to inspire purchases of the iPad, but according to a two-and-a-half year study by Renee Gosline of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, many people use counterfeits as “trial versions.”

The same study found that “40% of counterfeit handbag consumers” ultimately bought the real thing. In fact, Gosline’s research suggests that once a person buys a counterfeit product, they are much more likely to purchase the genuine item as soon as they can afford it.

8. OFC/UFO

Instead of becoming a franchisee of Colonel Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken, three Beijing university students decided to open a different kind of restaurant. One featured none other than US President Barack Obama in a bow tie and apron alongside the catchy tagline, “We so cool, aren’t we?”

Actually, the hardworking students opened Obama Fried Chicken in order to support their families and didn’t intend to violate any copyright laws. And after KFC threatened with legal action, they changed the name to UFO (for some reason), although the copyright-infringing Obama logo remains.

7. Tids

If it isn’t knock-off restaurants and candy bars, it’s laundry detergent. Here, well-known US brand Tide gets the treatment. Counterfeit products, it seems, know no bounds. But according to Kal Raustiala and Chris Sprigman, authors of The Knockoff Economy, copies of branded goods can actually positively affect the originals. In fact, counterfeits tend “to advertise the desirability of a brand” and spark “trend-driven consumption that spills over - or up - to the original version.” So there you go.

6. Adidas

This is a pretty convincing counterfeit, until you read the slogan, “Nothing is possible.” The effect is, of course, tragically comic, since it’s the exact opposite of what Adidas strives to represent. Maybe it’s one for the reluctant athlete?

5. King Burger

This combination of Burger King and McDonald’s is located in…China. Have you noticed a trend yet? One academic says: “China is full of fakes. The eggs are fake, the Baijiu is fake, the wine is fake, the clothing is fake, the phones are fake, bags and shoes are fake. There is no other country in the world that is even close to China on this issue. Not India, not Russia, not Brazil, not Vietnam, not Indonesia: not anywhere.”

Why are there so many Chinese fakes? Well, teacher, writer and traveller Jeffrey Hays says: “There is a general perception that foreign-made goods are better than Chinese-made ones.” But if people can’t afford the real thing, they turn to the knock-off brands. And even if they can’t afford a genuine product at a given time, many people hope to one day be able to buy the genuine article.

4. Unbelievable This Is Not Butter

Add a comma after “Unbelievable” and it’s easy to imagine this product causing consternation rather than its intended reaction of surprised joy. While it’s a bit of a stretch to imagine anyone being truly elated over spreading butter-substitute on toast, the name itself is good for a chuckle. The original “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” is the second largest margarine brand in the US and makes more than $300 million dollars a year. But if you can’t beat them, join them - or at least, copy them.

Oh, and apparently the folks at Unbelievable This Is Not Butter weren’t the only ones with the idea. Other knock-off brands include Butter It’s Not; Could It Be Butter?; What, Not Butter!; and You’d Think It’s Butter!

3. NKIE

While these knock-off Nikes would never be mistaken for the real thing, many factories in Putian, China make such high-quality counterfeit shoes that the only way to tell the difference is by the smell of the glue. Nike is one of the most counterfeited brands in the world. In fact, one Nike employee estimates that there’s one fake Nike item for every two real ones. In reality, though, the number of fakes is surely impossible to count. Interviewed by The New York Times, a senior employee at a major athletic footwear company said: “Does it cut into our business? Probably not. Is it frustrating? Of course. But we put it as a form of flattery, I guess.”

2. Heimekem

Swap a couple of letters and you’ve got a great copy of one of the world’s most famous beers. While we can’t guarantee that it tastes much like the original, this knock-off creates what Freakonomics calls “the most powerful endorsement a brand can hope for.”

According to Sprigman and Raustiala, conventional advertisements are limited because “they rarely convey authentic endorsement.” A copy, on the other hand, shows that the original is both high quality and desirable.

1. Crust

This knock-off probably takes the cake for the most unintentionally awful name change. Still, while it would make an excellent gag gift, it probably wouldn’t tempt anyone seriously interested in dental hygiene. By the way, many of these counterfeit items are available for sale online - should you ever wish to clean your teeth with crusty toothpaste…

[Source: Business Pundit via Environmental Graffiti. Edited.]