LA VOIX DU NORD (France)
LILLE – “You need a car? HolLowCost, your cheap rental solution.” Now, say that again out loud.
Christian Camelot, the 53 year-old owner of the offensively named rental service in northern France admits “To be honest, my company wasn’t doing so well, but three weeks ago I put up stickers with my logo on the cars, and that changed everything.”
Why did he choose this name? “It’s a ‘hollow cost”, a cheap rental,” he explains to La Voix du Nord. Did it occur to him that it might sound a little too much like ‘Holocaust”?
“Yes, but I’m not a xenophobe. I’m a nice guy” he says, “It does stick in your mind doesn’t it though? People remember the name.”
His idea is that “People just don’t care. They want to rent a cheap car. Most will get a laugh out of it, only 1% will be shocked.”
Not everyone finds it funny. Jean-Claude Komar, president of the Lille Jewish community, is flabbergasted. “Whatever the marketing ploy, this name is reminiscent of the Shoah. It’s an invitation to racial hatred, something that is totally unacceptable.”
Read the original article in French.