12 Ordinary People Who Beat Major Brands to Their Own Twitter Handles

You know when you try to find a brand on Twitter, and you just assume the handle will be the brand name? Well, not so fast.

A surprising number of brand-name handles aren't run by the brands at all. They're run by real people who got there first. We've highlighted a few of them below. Since they're not otherwise posing as the brand, they are not subject to Twitter's trademark policy.

Though the brands surely aren't too happy about it.

1) @Chipotle

Name: Chip Clark

Bio: They have the Internet on computers, now? —Homer Simpson

Joined: March 2007

Brand account: @ChipotleTweets

Joined: May 2010

Meet Chip Clark, who judging by his bio, is more into the Simpsons than burrito bowls. But wait, he's done his share of Mexican cooking!

I made some chicken enchiladas with some homemade refrieds. Holy moly me oh my!

— Chip Clark (@Chipotle) September 12, 2010

2) @Advil

Name: mama advil

Bio: terrible model & actor … NOT advil the medicine, it's my name

Joined April 2008

Brand account: @advilrelief

Joined: N/A

Here's "mama advil," who coincidentally shares his name with the popular headache relief medicine. Advil's hobbies include fashion and One Direction.

I can never tell anyone that I have a headache bc pic.twitter.com/rJaIMZUAoF

— mama advil (@Advil) July 19, 2014

3) @Absolut

Name: Yvonne

Bio: Master procrastinator

Joined: March 2007

Brand account: @ABSOLUTvodka

Joined: April 2011

Toronto resident "Yvonne" likes to critique Canadian politics and Apple product announcements. According to her bio, Yvonne has perfected waiting until the last minute.

@Ferbil07 what? It's not for sale.

— Yvonne (@absolut) January 19, 2012

4) @Trident

Name: Ben T.

Bio: Things. That's what I do; and I'll keep doing it. I think you want to yell at @tridentgum next time, I'm just a person.

Joined March 2007

Brand account: @tridentgum

Joined July 2010

Here's "Ben T," who is persistent in his pursuit of doing things. In his spare time, Ben enjoys retweeting messages intended for the famous sugar-free gum but instead were sent to him, because he has the handle they probably wanted. He also enjoys tweeting about the weather and the music he listens to.

I always buy @trident gum! pic.twitter.com/9UR6k8vU

— Ben T (@trident) January 5, 2013

I went through some old ones … let me know how you feel about brand name chewing gum and I'll be sure the right people don't see it.

— Ben T (@trident) October 10, 2013

5) @Lego

Bio: Art Nerd, City Cyclist, Urban Crawler, Fun Finder

Joined November 2006

Brand account: @LEGO_Group 

Joined May 2011

"Lego" hasn't tweeted much, but when he does, he mostly tweets about bikes. His first tweet was:

home, morning stuff

— Lego (@Lego) July 30, 2007

He also enjoys dessert and women's fashion:

Mango sorbet is on the menu in response to the warm weather and Hillary's pantsuit!

— Lego (@Lego) August 27, 2008

6) @Kraft

Name: Kraft

Bio: Just call me Kraft. Work at @Automattic/@Jetpack, husband of @LaLuped, father, & Catholic, doing the best to be good at all. (FYI- Not @KraftFoods)

Joined October 2007

Brand account: @kraftfoods

Joined September 2009

This guy is one of the more prolific of the pseudo-brand tweeters. He relishes in participating in banter referencing his namesake. In his spare time, he enjoys craft beer. GET IT?!

Apparently, #FoodDeservesDelicious is a big hashtag today. People are telling me all about their usage of ranch dressing.

— Kraft (@Kraft) June 24, 2014

I'm eating cheesy scrambled eggs for breakfast. Why? I have a fridge full of @kraftcheese and I can.

— Kraft (@Kraft) April 12, 2014

@BetteMidler Don't worry. I bought some more. I don't know why everyone cares about my Velveeta supply levels. http://t.co/DFHh8ngkT2

— Kraft (@Kraft) January 23, 2014

7) @Velveeta

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