A couple weeks back, Twitter was all atwitter over a rather unfortunate branding decision that was made by Russia's Gazprom and Nigeria's NNPC. The joint venture between these two energy companies, it was announced, will go by the name "Nigaz." Yes, you read that correctly. I understand that "the word we do not say" is not technically spelled that way. But, you don't have to be hooked on phonics to make the association. I'm certain that the intention is for us to pronounce it NIE-gaz. But, really? I mean…really? Is that the best name they could have come up with? Even "Gazgeria," despite sounding like some sort of intestinal malfunction, would have been better. To the brand manager in charge of heading up this naming assignment, I say "FAIL!"

So, it got me thinking. What if other companies took this same, irresponsible approach to naming their joint ventures?

And, my personal favorite…

If you can think of any other joint ventures that could lead to poorly thought out brand names, leave a comment.

—Greg