SodiumPartners

Phonetic Branding
We Rub You

The enthusiasm around Asian inspired American food is 

still going strong in NYC. We Rub You joins the city’s food

festivities, bringing Korean BBQ to American culture. 

The transliteration of the name, we rub you from the phrase, 

we love you, certainly brings fort a heartwarming and 

welcoming tone to the brand. Most importantly, the use of 

the word, rub, not only adheres to the phonetics of the word, 

love, pronounced in Korean, but it also implies the act 

of ‘rubbing’ BBQ sauce or marinade on meat. In this way, 

the play on the word,rub, is used as a more technical term 

‘to rub marinade on meat.’ The dichotomy of the word, rub, 

and its phonetic implication of love seem to work together 

in creating a brand centered around the idea of ‘cooking

 food with a lot of love.’  

by Lynn Esther