My seat of the pants opinion matches yours. Some brands are just very popular. Even if they are not the best example of what they are.
For instance, while in Prague in 2001, I wore a Sox hat a lot. I did not see another Sox hat in ten days there. On the other hand, I saw Yankee hats quite frequently. In fact, only Ferrari hats seemed to out number the Yankee hats.
Jack Daniels is a very popular brand of "American whiskey" in Europe. But you can buy real bourbon ( like Jim Beam, for example ) as well.
This is all very scientific of me!