Google deal yields irresistible Waze to make puns

"Congratulations, you've reached your destination," Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in congratulating Israeli start-up.

By NIV ELIS
Waze navigation application 370 (photo credit: Courtesy Waze)
Waze navigation application 370
(photo credit: Courtesy Waze)
“Congratulations, you’ve reached your destination!” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told Israeli map app Waze’s founders in a phone call on Tuesday. “You put Israeli technology on the world map.”
The prime minister’s humor was just one of a slew of reactions from politicians and pun-dits following Google’s announcement that it got the green light to pick up the company for a reported $1.1 billion.
President Shimon Peres took his punny joke in a similar direction, declaring “Waze is showing us the way.”
Science, Technology and Space Minister Yaakov Peri praised the “trailblazing” innovation, voicing his hope that Waze would continue its endeavors in Israel, without “recalculating the route.”
If politicians proved adept at taking wordplay for a spin, however, journalists and headline writers refused to apply the brakes, hoping their sites would get heavy traffic with the biggest story driving the business news cycle.
The Jerusalem Post went with “Google gets its Waze” (though it nixed the underline “Search giant finds direction to Israeli ‘exit,’” fearing the business jargon for acquisition by a foreign company would leave some readers lost).
The Times of Israel site analyzed the “Waze and means” of the deal, while Ma’ariv talked about the company “Navigating toward the riches.”
Army Radio declared that “Waze is on its way” as Forbes wondered if the deal could help Google “Jumpstart” its “Social Networking Drive.”Calcalist was happy to report that all the “roadblocks” to negotiations had been cleared, though a Globes writer somewhat stalled with the headline “Waze to go.”
Branding experts should take note. With an endless supply of puns and driving jokes in tow, it hardly seems any wonder that the company has gotten so much mileage out of it name.
It is perhaps unsurprising that Noam Bardin, the CEO of the punnily named Ra’ananabased company, would add fuel to the wordy fire. In his announcement that the company had at long last arrived, he promised that the acquisition would serve to “accelerate our mission.”