OT - humour, sales abroad

J K Siddorn · 2003-11-28T12:41:07+00:00

Just thought that I'd share these....Several years ago, a US government computer was set up to translate Russiandocuments. It was not an unqualified success and the phrase "out of sight,out of mind" was translated as "Invisible idiot".The advertising world fares little better. A phonetic translation ofCoca-Cola was launched in China without proper advice, so the giantcorporation found out the hard way that 'ke-kou-ke-la' means 'bite the waxtadpole' or 'female horse stuffed withwax' depending on dialect. Campaigns need to be thought out in advance tooas 'Coke adds life!' was found to mean 'Coke brings your ancestors back fromthe dead!'A poultry company tried their luck in Spain with the slogan 'it takes astrong man to make a tender chicken'. The Spanish translation was ' it takesan aroused man to make a chicken affectionate' which may or may not beexactly what they had in mind.Vauxhall had similar problems with the Nova in Spanish-speaking countries as'no va' means 'won't go'. A Ford Pinto launch in Brazil was blighted by thewidespread vernacular use of pinto meaning 'tiny penis' and the Americansports car the 'Probe' has unfortunate medical overtones in the UK! EvenRolls-Royce are not exempt and the immediate post-war 'Silver Mist' washastily renamed 'Silver Wraith' to avoid excretory overtones.Clairol launched the 'Mist Stick' in Germany only to find it meant 'ManureStick'. Not exactly what you'd want to apply to your head .....Regards,Kim SiddornI'd rather have a free bottle in front of methan a free frontal lobotomy!