Verizon Takes An 'Oath' For Yahoo-AOL Merger, Internet Explodes With Funny Comments

AOL and Yahoo will be merged under the brand name Oath. So Yahoo and AOL are now in the same "boath," get it?

The internet is having a field day after AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong announced the new name for the merged AOL and Yahoo: Oath. Yahoo was recently purchased by Verizon. The company has experienced recent setbacks, and the struggle is real in the naming department as it is clear that outgoing CEO Marissa Mayer would have nothing to do with this new brand.

Armstrong announced the new name via Twitter, and the company also said that it will be "launching one of the most disruptive brand companies in digital," but it seems that this digital disruption is happening earlier than expected.

Websites Took An Oath Too

Many websites had their share of poking fun at this new name. TechCrunch took the satirical way and published an article denoting the "pros and cons" of the new name, with the cons having a longer list.

TechCrunch wrote that at least, Oath is an actual word. It also described the name as good instead of "Tinder for cults." Lastly, the company poked fun at many corporate rebranding efforts that include crazy gradients and "geometric sans serif" type face.

Now for the cons part, TechCrunch became more brutal.

"Oath is another name for doing a swear. Ancient oaths are actually very interesting. Did you know 'gadzooks' is short for 'by god's hooks,' indicating the nails used to crucify Christ? That's just one of many colorful oaths."

Engadget (an AOL subsidiary) shared an article for seven corporate rebrands worse than Oath. Number one is Tronc, the publishing company that also gets a lot of people scratching their heads. The article also poked fun at Google's parent company, Alphabet. Other names on the list are Logi (Logitech), The Shack (Radioshack), and Qwikster.

Ars Technica also joined the fray with an article poking fun at the name's origin, saying it came from what Verizon swore to do after Yahoo's multiple data breaches incident. Another theory suggested Oath is what Yahoo employees have been "uttering" as the beleaguered company was in the process of acquisition.

"Or perhaps 'Oath' came to mind when those same employees heard about Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's proposed severance package," Sean Gallagher of Ars Technica wrote.

Twitter Exploded With Oaths

Here are some funny posts from Twitterverse and their "disrupted" reactions to the "Oath name."

USA Today sports writer A.J. Perez likened it to a competition.

Bit.ly CEO Mark Josephson offered a different reading.

The Verge editor Casey Newton poked fun at Yahoo’s security attacks.

Fusion Executive producer Dan Ilic was kind of liberal with his chosen words.

And the puns (and some timely internet privacy concerns) just keep on coming.