case study
MAC COSMETICS: NAMING
Over the years we’ve developed hundreds of thousands of shade, product, and collection names for M·A·C Cosmetics. It’s as fabulous as it sounds. But it bears significant weight. When you’re developing names for M·A·C, you know you’re positioning a product that’s destined for impact.
Names have to be memorable but uncommon. Current but timeless. Provocative but not alienating. Antonym devised shade names that could stand tall with the brand’s most beloved icons, like Russian Red, Ruby Woo, Heroine, Velvet Teddy, and Candy Yum-Yum. We concocted revolutionary product names positioned to become the new M·A·C icons. And we conspired with celebrity collaborators to ensure their shade names were as quintessential as the personas that made them famous.
collection names
THE ANTONYM EFFECT
“Naming is the foundation of any illustrious product story. Current slang is fine for limited edition, but if you covet legendary impact, you can’t rely on jargon.
When we’re naming a collection, we approach it with the rigor of a cultural anthropologist. Antonym HQ has a library of over 1,000 books devoted to the subjects we’ve created names around: night-blooming flowers, punk rock, romance novels, flamingos, amusement parks, female bodybuilders, laundromats, ballet, Brazilian Carnival, fairies, the color orange.
Unforgettable names have a searing power. The best ones define entire identities, enwrapped in the stories people tell about themselves. The shades that manifest their signature look, the must-have essential they refuse to live without. Referenced on the red carpet, a previously unknown hue can sell out instantly. That’s why, when a celebrity is asked about their favorite lip color, we make sure it’s your name on their lips.”
THE LEXICON (OUR FAVORITE NAMES*)
Frost Yourself, Basic Bitch, Hottie With A Body, Power Hungry, Instacurl, Lightness of Being, A Novel Romance, Moody Blooms, Bi-Ceptual, Testosterone, Sixxx Pack, Unedited, Tira Miss You, Seraphic, Nymphette, Petalhead, Punk Couture
*Everyone asks.
THE CELEBS
Caitlynn Jenner, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Ellie Goulding, Philip Treacy, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Selena, Archie Comics, Maleficent, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Brooke Shields, Lorde, Sharon and Kelly Osbourne, Giambattista Valli, Proenza Schouler
