Given that Philip Morris was founded in 1881, and is part of a holding company that once included Kraft Foods, and a brewery, the change in naming of the holding company from Philip Morris Companies in to Altria in 2003. Separation in brand identity makes sense.
Probably you won’t buy anything from AIG, after what happened last fall/winter.
But, wait a minute, I would definitely buy the exact same insurance/financial product from AIU Holdings.
Altria group makes a lot of sense to me—its not just Phillip Morris and the Phillip Morris brand has retained that name. AIG and Blackwater, however, probably desperately need to change names to survive. And the people who don’t really care will never know or realize and won’t care when we contract with Xe or when they get insurance through AIU.
@SeventhSense – technically, I think I’m one of the siths behind Vader.
@A_Beaverhausen – I agree. Despite the various forms of excuses provided for them to do so, I keep track of the names and people behind them rather than make the mistake of doing business with them again. The same people who wouldn’t tolerate this in elections for candidates don’t seem to see the problem. Fortunately, sites like prwatch.org do.
They change their name in an attempt to clean up their image. Phillip Morris was famous for the murderous quality of their products, the same with Black Water. It doesn’t matter, a mercenary company is an abomination regardless of their name. I find it especially onerous that the U.S. government actually pays for their services.