Avail Translation and Localization Services to Avoid Brand Mistranslations!
What happens if a company uses machine translation instead of using localization and business translation services from a certified language services provider? You might be safe if you’re just trying to say “hello” in Italian, but businesses expanding into foreign markets often mis-translate with confusing and hilarious results. Besides providing us with humor, these serve as a reminder of the importance of professional localization and translation services. Read on for some of the funniest slogan and brand mistranslations!
Brand Mistranslations in Arabic – Jolly Green Giant
Would you be more likely to buy groceries from a “Jolly Green Giant” or from an “Intimidating Green Ogre?”
Unfortunately, the American canned vegetable company, when marketing their canned corn, didn’t realize that this was how their mascot was translated into Arabic!
Chinese – Kentucky Fried Chicken
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is another company that has been a victim of a mis-translation. KFC is widely known for their popular slogan “Finger lickin’ good.”
But when KFC opened their first restaurant in Bejing, China, they discovered that their slogan translated to “Eat your fingers off” in Chinese! Not exactly what they had in mind as a tempting slogan for their chicken.
Spanish – Mitsubishi
The car company Mitsubishi originally had a line of cars known as the “Pajero 4WD,” named after the Argentinian Pampas cat, Leopardus pajeros.
However, when this particular line was released in Spain, the company encountered some issues. What Mitsubishi didn’t realize is that in Spain “pajero” is a crude slang word. The company quickly changed the car’s brand name to “Montero.”
Chinese – Pepsi
Pepsi wanted to emphasize how a cold soda could rejuvenate you with their slogan “Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation.”
Unfortunately when Pepsi tried to market its beverage to Taiwan, the slogan that was passed on to be translated read “Come Alive with Pepsi.” In Chinese this translates as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave!”
Italian – Schweppes Tonic Water
In Italy, a promotional campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water completely failed when the company’s product name was translated into Italian as “Schweppes Toilet Water.”
The company quickly changed the product name from Schweppes Tonic Water to Schweppes Tonica when they learned that in Italian, “il water” means “the bathroom.”
Brand Mistranslations in Chinese – Coca Cola
Coca-Cola’s first attempt to advertise itself to the Chinese market was not much more successful than its rival company Pepsi.
The first Chinese name for Coca-Cola was “ke-kou-ke-la,” which translates to “bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse stuffed with wax” depending on the dialect.
The company quickly took advantage of translation and localization services offered by certified language services companies and decided to market its product with the slogan “ko-kou-ko-le,” which in Chinese means “happiness in the mouth.” Without a doubt that was a much more appealing slogan for a soft drink!
Spanish – Parker Pen
The company Parker Pen tried to enter the market of Mexico with their ball-point pen by using the slogan “It won’t leak into your pocket and embarrass you.”
The company’s advertising team assumed that the English phrase “to embarrass” translates as “embarazar.” However, the lack of research had the adverse effect on the company’s advertising campaign since the slogan in Spanish was interpreted as “It won’t leak in your pocket and impregnate you!” This highly inappropriate mistake would have been conveniently avoided had the advertising team availed translation and localization services from a reputable language services company!
Brand Mistranslations in Spanish – General Motors
*This story should be taken with a grain of salt as it has in fact been discredited as an urban legend. However, the implications of a poor translation/language consideration when entering a market remain the same.
General Motors originally tried to market their newest Chevy model in Mexico and Latin America using the brand name Nova. But what they didn’t realize was that “No va” translates in Spanish as “It doesn’t go.” Not the most successful name for a car, let alone for an advertising campaign since that the stepping stone in order to attract the potential customers! For the situation to be reversed, the company renamed its product name to ”Caribe” in Latin America.
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