Whatto! Publicists........
We all know how running a business can sometimes be anything but 'plain sailing'............but sometimes a little more work during the planning stage may well have paid orf.......
T Shirts
An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. But instead of the desired 'I Saw the Pope' in Spanish, the finished shirts proclaimed 'I Saw the Potato'.........(He must have been baked in that heat!)
Schweppes 
In Italy, a costly campaign for "Schweppes Tonic Water" mis-translated the product name into "Schweppes Toilet Water"..... and they wondered why no-one was drinking it!
In Italy, a costly campaign for "Schweppes Tonic Water" mis-translated the product name into "Schweppes Toilet Water"..... and they wondered why no-one was drinking it!
KFC 
In Chinese characters the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan 'finger-lickin' good' came out as 'eat your fingers off'............. Yum!
In Chinese characters the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan 'finger-lickin' good' came out as 'eat your fingers off'............. Yum!
FORD 
Even motor giants like Ford aren't immune.......they had a problem in Brazil when sales in their Ford 'Pinto' flopped badly. The company did some belated research and found out that 'Pinto' was actually Brazilian slang for 'tiny male genitals'!........ (That's NEVER a good thing to associate your product with)..... So Ford took off all the 'Pinto' nameplates and substituted it with 'Corcel' - which means 'Horse'............. Vrooom Vrooom!
Even motor giants like Ford aren't immune.......they had a problem in Brazil when sales in their Ford 'Pinto' flopped badly. The company did some belated research and found out that 'Pinto' was actually Brazilian slang for 'tiny male genitals'!........ (That's NEVER a good thing to associate your product with)..... So Ford took off all the 'Pinto' nameplates and substituted it with 'Corcel' - which means 'Horse'............. Vrooom Vrooom!
Parker Pens 
When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say, 'It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you. ' However, the company mistakenly thought the Spanish word 'embarazar' meant embarrass. So instead the ads said, 'It wont leak in your pocket and make you pregnant'.......... that's one powerful pen!
When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say, 'It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you. ' However, the company mistakenly thought the Spanish word 'embarazar' meant embarrass. So instead the ads said, 'It wont leak in your pocket and make you pregnant'.......... that's one powerful pen!
Coca Cola 
The name Coca-Cola was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la in Chinese. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase (depending on the dialect used) means, 'bite the wax tadpole' or 'female horse stuffed with wax' ......... Neither of which, they felt, seemed to adequately describe the drinking experience! Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, 'ko-kou-ko-le,' which can be loosely translated as 'happiness in the mouth'.......Aaaaaaah I know that feeling well!
The name Coca-Cola was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la in Chinese. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase (depending on the dialect used) means, 'bite the wax tadpole' or 'female horse stuffed with wax' ......... Neither of which, they felt, seemed to adequately describe the drinking experience! Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, 'ko-kou-ko-le,' which can be loosely translated as 'happiness in the mouth'.......Aaaaaaah I know that feeling well!
Pepsi
And Coca Colas rival had problems of their own - but theirs was more to do with 'Trade Descriptions'....... In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan 'Come alive with the Pepsi Generation' came out as 'Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead'.............
..........or your money back!?
Tallyho!
Best Wishes - Lord Noel
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