In Cod We Trust - ‘Brassed Off’ Chip Shop voted best ever TV and film business name - 1 July 2004
Would you get a hair cut at a salon called Blade Runners, invest your hard earned cash with Trotters Independent Traders (T.I.T.) or top up your suntan at Tan Tropez? If success is all in a name, these businesses – if they existed – would be quids in, having just been voted the best screen business names of all time.To mark the launch of its second annual search for the real Best Business Name in Britain, Yellow Pages asked a panel of experts to rank their favourite fictional business names from a shortlist taken from a range of British soaps, dramas and movies.
Top of the list was In Cod We Trust, from the 1996 film Brassed Off, followed by EastEnders’ watering hole Angie’s Den, and the legendary Trotters Independent Traders (T.I.T) from Only Fools and Horses. Highly commended were Tan Tropez – the tanning shop in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Blade Runner from current hit BBC hairdressing saga Cutting It. But despite winning a wealth of comedy awards, The Office’s Wernham Hogg – perhaps unsurprisingly – failed to impress Yellow Pages’ judges, coming last.
Britain’s Best Fictional Business Names
| Rank | Name | Type of business | Programme/Film |
| 1 | In Cod We Trust | Fish and Chip Shop | Brassed Off |
| 2 | Angie’s Den | Nightclub | EastEnders |
| 3 | Trotters’ Independent Traders (T.I.T) | General Traders | Only Fools and Horses |
| 4 | Tan Tropez | Tanning Salon | Lock, Stock |
| 5 | Blade Runner | Hairdressers | Cutting It |
| 6 | Washed Up | Launderette | Hollyoaks |
| 7 | Sophisti-Kate’s | Nail Bar | EastEnders |
| 8 | Beale’s Plaice | Fish and Chip Shop | EastEnders |
| 9 | The Rover’s Return | Pub | Coronation Street |
| 10 | Roy’s Rolls | Sandwich bar/cafe | Coronation Street |
| Last | Wernham Hogg | Paper Manufacturer | The Office |
The names were scrutinised by the same expert panel who will responsible for judging Yellow Pages’ competition to find the real Best Business Names in Britain: retail psychologist Dr Tim Denison, Open University linguist Dr Frank Monaghan, Laurence Miller, MD of top comedy club Jongleurs and Richard Duggleby from Yell, publisher of Yellow Pages directories. Just as in the real Best Business Names competition, judging criteria took account of comedy value, wit and originality.
Dr Denison said: “In Cod We Trust was the winner by a unanimous decision. Quite apart from the fact that it’s a classic British play on words and ties in brilliantly with the hymns played by the band in Brassed Off, it’s a name that we could really imagine doing a brisk trade in the real world, pulling in queues for a Friday night fish supper from Yorkshire to Yeovil.”
Richard Duggleby, head of external relations at Yell and chairman of the judges, added: “Over the years there have been some memorable business names in British popular culture, reflecting our nation’s distinctive sense of humour. Yellow Pages’ annual search for Britain’s best business name seeks to reward businesses that take the time and trouble to come up with an original title, which can be crucial to their success.”
Last year’s inaugural Best Business Name search was won by Cornish landscape gardener The Lawnranger. Yellow Pages is now inviting members of the public to submit nominations for this year’s competition. Twelve regional winners will each receive a cheque for £500. They will then go forward to the national final where the overall winner will scoop £5,000. Yellow Pages is also offering £100 for the person who nominates the winning business name in each region, and £500 for the nominator of the national winner.
