Marketing, mistranslations, localization and humor

 1. 60 Minutes' Mike Wallace, known for his tough interviewing style, drew a sharp rebut from Boris Yeltsin because of an interpreter’s error. The confusion arose when Wallace asked Yeltsin if he had a "thin skin" when it came to public criticism, but the translation had Wallace describing Yeltsin as a "thick-skinned hippopotamus". Yeltsin was not amused: "An experienced journalist like you", Yeltsin said, "should express himself in a more civilized fashion. But this may be the interpreter's fault, and if so, he is the hippopotamus!"

2. During its 1994 launch campaign, the telecom company Orange had to change its ads in Northern Ireland. "The future's bright … the future's Orange". That campaign is an advertising legend. However, in the North the term Orange suggests the Orange Order. The implied message that the future is bright, the future is Protestant, loyalist... didn't sit well with the Catholic Irish population.

3. In 1988, the General Electric Company (GEC) and Plessey combined to create a new telecommunications giant. A brand name was desired that evoked technology and innovation. The winning proposal was GPT for GEC-Plessey Telecommunications. A not very innovative name, not suggestive of technology and a total disaster for European branding. GPT is pronounced in French as “J’ai pété” or “I've farted”.

4. Gerber, the name of the famous baby food maker, is also the French word for vomiting. It becomes a bit limiting when you go global... Gerber is therefore not in France, and although Gerber has a French Canadian web page, it says "Les aliments pour bébés Gerber ne sont disponibles pour l'instant qu'aux États-Unis" (French for: The baby food ain't here, try the U.S.)

5. In the late '70s, the American computer company Wang was puzzled about why its British branch refused to use its latest motto "Wang Cares". However, to British ears the motto sounds too close to "wankers".

6. The Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux tried to sell its goods in America but didn't help itself with the slogan, "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."

7. Mazda's Laputa seems like an odd name for a minivan. The Mazda Laputa was introduced in Japan in 1991. Spanish speakers immediately think of "puta", the word for prostitute. With that in mind the ads claiming that "Laputa is designed to deliver maximum utility in a minimum space while providing a smooth, comfortable ride" and "a lightweight, impact-absorbing body" are humorous. Distributors in Santiago, Chile asked Mazda to rename the vehicle.

8. 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."

9. An American t-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of the desired "I saw the Pope" in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed "I saw the Potato."

10. No, Powergenitalia is not the company responsible for all that spam offering to help you with organ extensions or to invigorate you with Viagra-powered vitality. It is also not the Italian division of energy giant Powergen. When numerous English-speakers on the web took note of the web site www.powergenitalia.com, Powergen felt obligated to announce that they had no connection with the site and in fact had no Italian offices, so that people would not think that it was their Translation Marketing Mistake. No, they left that distinctive honor to the marketing folks at Powergen Italia, an Italian maker of battery chargers. The website now switches you over to the more aptly named for English-speakers, http://www.batterychargerpowergen.it.

Taken from Marketing Translation Mistakes: http://www.i18nguy.com/translations.html

By Pablo González