Virtual_Burlesque
Former Ecdysiast
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2004
- Posts
- 4,083
Sometimes even professional writers screw up. Here are some examples where it cost big money.
Coors put it's slogan "Turn it loose" into Spanish, where it read "Suffer from diarrhea"
Chicken magnate Frank Perdue's line, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken" sounds much more interesting in Spanish: "It takes a sexually stimulated man to make a chicken affectionate."
Puffs tissues tried to introduce it's product in Germany, only to learn that Puff was slang for whorehouse. The English weren't too fond of the name either.
The Vauxhall/Opel Nova never sold well in Spain where "No Va" means "It doesn't go."
When Pepsi started selling it's drink in China, they translated the slogan "Pepsi brings you back to life" too literally. The slogan in Chinese meant "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave."
When Coca-Cola first shipped to China, they named their product something that, when pronounced, sounded like "Coca-Cola". Unfortunately, the characters used meant "Bite the wax tadpole."
The hair products company, Clairol, introduced the "Mist Stick", a curling iron, into Germany only to find that "Mist" is slang for manure. No-one wanted a manure stick.
When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with a cute baby on the label. Later they found that companies in Africa always put pictures on the label of what's inside the tin, since most people can't read.
Coors put it's slogan "Turn it loose" into Spanish, where it read "Suffer from diarrhea"
Chicken magnate Frank Perdue's line, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken" sounds much more interesting in Spanish: "It takes a sexually stimulated man to make a chicken affectionate."
Puffs tissues tried to introduce it's product in Germany, only to learn that Puff was slang for whorehouse. The English weren't too fond of the name either.
The Vauxhall/Opel Nova never sold well in Spain where "No Va" means "It doesn't go."
When Pepsi started selling it's drink in China, they translated the slogan "Pepsi brings you back to life" too literally. The slogan in Chinese meant "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave."
When Coca-Cola first shipped to China, they named their product something that, when pronounced, sounded like "Coca-Cola". Unfortunately, the characters used meant "Bite the wax tadpole."
The hair products company, Clairol, introduced the "Mist Stick", a curling iron, into Germany only to find that "Mist" is slang for manure. No-one wanted a manure stick.
When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with a cute baby on the label. Later they found that companies in Africa always put pictures on the label of what's inside the tin, since most people can't read.
(over 40 years for the baby food one)
