Sensational spelling


Sensational spelling is the deliberate spelling of a word in a non-standard way for special effect.

Branding

Sensational spellings are common in advertising and product placement. In particular, brand names such as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Weet-Bix, Blu-ray, Kellogg's Froot Loops or Hasbro's Playskool may use unexpected spellings to draw attention to or trademark an otherwise common word.

In popular music

Some bands in the mid-1960s adopted sensational spelling. The Turtles successfully resisted an effort by their label, White Whale Records, to name them "The Tyrtles." Although similar, The Beatles is a word play that fuses 'beat' and 'beetles'.
Other examples include Def Leppard and Led Zeppelin, in which "lead" was deliberately misspelled to make clear it is pronounced rather than the other pronunciation of "lead",