Unhappiness over description of naughty Lycra lovers

Word reaches us that DuPont Textiles and Interiors – the maker of Lycra – has written to the editor of The Times asking the paper to refrain from describing recalcitrant city cyclists as ‘Lycra louts’.

Being considered, even-handed types, we can see DuPont is in a tight spot. Lycra, unlike lager, isn’t a generic term, but ‘elastene lout’ doesn’t make great copy, as DuPont’s Denise Sakuma points out.

Maybe that’s the price you pay, however, when your brand becomes synonymous with a product. Just ask all those Biro bandits, Hoover hooligans and Sellotape scoundrels.

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