Sears Tower no more

[Ender]

One of the most iconic buildings in the world will soon have a new name. Sears Tower, at one point the tallest skyscraper on earth, will be known as Willis Tower starting this summer.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Willis Group Holdings, a London-based insurance broker, didn't have to pay anything for the name. After consolidating its area offices to the Tower, Willis was given naming rights to the 36-year-old skyscraper. It was a package deal, of sorts. According to the Tribune, Willis is hoping its newest venture increases the company's name recognition in the United States. Apparently, it's a big player across the pond, but few Yanks know anything about it.

Clearly the move is already having an effect in Search. Lookups on "willis tower," "sears tower," and "what is willis company" immediately soared into the stratosphere. But some wonder if native Chicagoans will play along with the name change. CNN quotes a local historian as saying that it will be hard for residents "to shift and start calling it (Sears Tower) something else."

Indeed, a message board on a Chicago station's website features many sarcastic and "Is nothing sacred?"-type remarks. One telling quote: "They can rename it whatever they want, the people who live here will always refer to it as The Sears Tower."

[garbon]

 :

Anyway, in the short term this might be a negative PR move for Willis.

[Grinning_Colossus]

You made me turn on my television for nothing.

[DontSayBanana]

Gary Coleman is not amused.

[Weatherman]

Fuck that. Goddamn limeys.

[Ender]

You made me turn on my television for nothing.

Same here when I saw the link in Yahoo.com

[FunkMonk]

Gary Coleman is not amused.

God damnit you did it first.

[Neil]

Fucking naming rights.

[derspiess]

You made me turn on my television for nothing.

Beat me to it.