|
Lost in Translation! Here are five examples of where major companies just got it wrong, big time! Pepsi in China Pepsi's marketing in China flopped when they launched their “Come alive with the Pepsi generation” slogan. It was translated into Mandarin as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave". Now that is a big claim! Scary too! Parker Pens in Mexico Parker Pens launched their ballpoint pens in Mexico emphasising that their pens “won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you”. However they translated the word 'embarrass' into Spanish as “embarzar”, which actually means to impregnate. So their promise turned out to be that your new Parker Pen “ won’t leak in your pocket and impregnate you.” Which is probably just as well. Clairol in Germany Clairol brought out a curling iron with the brand name Mist Stick. This vapor wand beauty product sold like hotcakes in most countries. However, in Germany it turned out that mist is German slang for manure. It took a while for Clairol to work out why sales for their Manure Stick weren't as good as expected. Perdue Chickens in Mexico Frank Perdue and Perdue Chickens is a well known brand of frozen chickens in the USA that markets under the slogan "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken". However they got into a bit of trouble when launching their product in Mexico. Their slogan translated into Spanish as "It takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate". Electrolux in the USA The Swedish vacuum cleaner manufacturer found sales were slow when they first launched in the United States with their Swedish slogan translated into English as "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux." Is that honesty in marketing? |
