Whatz in a name?

Grumpy post today. One of the things the riles me no end these days is this.

Or this.

Or, indeed, this.

Yes, it's the 'replace a perfectly good letter or word with an alternative of equal or higher Scrabble value' grumble. These are just three examples of a craze that started at some point when some marketing genius thought there logo could be made more 'punchy' by completely changing the spelling. Toys R Us. With a backwards R? Are we in Moscow?
It is ARE, surely. Toys Are Us. Even that doesn't make a whole load of sense.

For years, Heinz (z accepted here), have made their famous baked beans. Kids love them, adults love them and have done, as beans, for years. SO WHY OH WHY did they change the name? From an article in the Telegraph back in 2008:

Heinz baked beans become Heinz Beanz

Ever since 1886 they have been sold as baked beans.

By Laura Clout

1:53PM BST 11 Jul 2008

Comment

But now Heinz has decided to remove the word "baked" from the name on the label because the full title was "a bit of a mouthful to pronounce".

The product will remain the same, as will the distinctive turquoise tin, but the beans will now be pictured on the pack and they will be called Heinz Beanz.

The new-look cans, which still include the famous "57 varieties" phrase, go on sale in August.

John Alderman, marketing manager for the firm said: "Heinz Beanz have been powering the nation for over a hundred years and to say thank you to our loyal fans, we have given this iconic product a 21st century makeover".

Heinz, which has previously been criticised for the salt content of its baked beans sauce, claims to have reduced the salt added to the product by 30 per cent over the last five years.

The back of the new tin will highlight the nutritional benefits of the beans, which are high in fibre and protein and low in fat and sugar.

Four years ago Heinz changed the can logo for the first time in 76 years, changing the "s" in Heinz Beans to a "z".

Oh, please. Spare me. Baked Beans was 'a bit of a mouthful to pronounce'? Yes, I know the 'Z' made appearances in the 60's, but, you know, that was the 60's. It might have been excusable then. But to mask this labeling travesty as a '21st Century makeover' is a poor cop-out. If anything was to set off supermarket rage in the tinned foods aisle, this is it. 

And so to my last example, the Bratz Kidz video game. Two offences right from the start. Third strike has to be that this is aimed at kidS of a mostly young age who need to be seeing and reading the correct words. This riles me more than anything. It's unnecessary. It doesn't make the product any more appealing. Unbelievable.

This deliberate misspelling  appears everywhere now, and usually in ways that it just isn't needed or beneficial. We see it on TV shows, in the shops and on the interwebs. I can't truly understand what is gained from this. Is it more friendly? More 'down with the kids'? Not at all. 

Companies, it's not big and it's not clever. But you're not entirely to blame. As I write this, the truth dawned on me. Here's who's fault it all is...

Can you think of any good examples of this alphabet abuse? Let me know!