international marketing blunders
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What follows is a collection of some of the more infamous international marketing blunders. Sometimes they are mildly amusing and other times they are laugh out loud funny.TRANSCRIPT
- International
Marketing Blunders
OOPS! - I love international marketing blunders. Sometimes they are mildly amusing and other times they are laugh out loud funny. What follows is a collection of some of the more infamous.
- In the late '70s, Wang computer company launched a new motto "Wang Cares which the British branch refused to use
Oops
To British ears the motto sounded like "wankers" (masturbators). - Coors translated its catchy slogan, "Turn it loose" into Spanish.
Oops
It read as
"Suffer from Diarrhea". - Seeking the Chinese market, Coca-Cola phonetically translated into "Ke-kou-ke-la
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Depending upon the dialect, that worked out the be
Bite the wax tadpole
or
Female horse stuffed with wax - Nissan'sMoco didnt sell so well in Spanish-speaking markets especially the green ones.
Oops.
Mocois the Spanish word for mucous (booger). - Toyotas MR2 caused a few snickers in France
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MR2 pronounced in French sounds like "merd" or spelled 'merdeux which means "crappy". - "Gtzen", a European hardware chain, opened a store in Istanbul.
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"Gt" means "ass" in Turkish. They had to change the name to "Tekzen". - Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick curling iron, into Germany.
Oops.
Mist" is German slang for manure. - Parker pens attempted translate their slogan into Spanish "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you.
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The translation worked out to be "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant" - Japan's 2nd largest tourist agency entered English-speaking markets and began receiving requests for unusual sex tours.
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The Kinki Nippon Tourist company quickly changed its name. - The Mazda LaputaMinivan was not a success in South America.
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Spanish speakers immediately thought of "puta", the word for prostitute.
It probably didnt help that ads claimed that "Laputa is designed to deliver maximum utility in a minimum space while providing a smooth, comfortable ride" and "a lightweight, impact-absorbing body. Snicker, snicker. - Expanding to Mexico, The Dairy Association's hugely successful "Got Milk?" campaign translated into Spanish
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The translation turned out to mean "Are you lactating?" - Pepsis attempt to translate their slogan Come alive with the Pepsi Generation to Chinese
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It worked out to be Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead - PowergenItalia, an Italian maker of battery chargers registered the obvious internet domain name.
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www.powergenitalia.com was rich with unintended English language associations. - Honda introduced their new car "Fitta" into Nordic countries in 2001.
Oops
In Swedish, Norwegian and Danish "fitta" was a vulgar word used to refer to a woman's genitals. In the end they renamed it "Honda Jazz". - GEC and Plessseyformed a joint company in France named GPT.
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GPT pronounced in French sounds like Jay-Pay-Tay which is similar Jaipete, which means I have farted. - Marketing Puffstissue in Germany did NOT go very well.
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Puff meansbrothel in Germany. Brothel paper plus lotion. Snicker, snicker. - Perdue chicken, expanding to the Hispanic market translated the slogan, "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken"
Oops.
The Spanish came out as "It takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate." - To commemorate its initial flights from Hong Kong, United Airlines handed out white carnations to the passengers.
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For many Asians white flowers represent bad luck and even death. - Ford Motors launched a car under the name "Pinto" in Brazil
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It turned out that Pinto in Brazil meant "small male sex organ"(like the bean). - The Italian mineral water "Traficante"became very popular in Spain's underworld.
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In Spanish it translated as "drug dealer". - Chevrolet, disappointed in sales to a key Hispanic demographic investigated why.
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Nova in Spanishis no-va or
It Wont Go - Schwepps, expanding into the Italian market, translated Tonic Water into
Oops
Water from the toilet - An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts in Spanish for the Pope's visit. They wanted "I saw the Pope" (el papa)
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They got a bunch of shirts that read "I saw the Potato" (la papa) - Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign
- In Africa, with a high level of illiteracy, most companies put pictures of what's inside on the label.
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Gerber Baby Food did not sell well. - LinkedIn Profile- Click Here
www.graham-mcinnes.com