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The American Dairy Association replicated its "Got Milk?" campaign in Spanish-speaking countries, where it was translated into "Are You Lactating?"
Ford, many years ago, had a problem in Brazil when the Pinto flopped. The company found out that Pinto was Brazilian slang for "tiny male g e n i t a l s."
Frank Perdue's tagline, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken," got translated into Spanish as "It takes a sexually stimulated man to make a chicken affectionate." Yikes!
One of Japan's largest tourist agencies started receiving requests for unusual sex tours when it entered English-speaking markets. When they discovered why, the owners of Kinki Nippon Tourist Company decided to go as KNT instead in English-speaking countries.
Braniff International Airways translated a slogan for its fancy upholstered seats from "fly in leather" into Spanish as "fly naked."
In 1997, Nike came under fire for using a flame-shaped logo that resembled the word Allah in Arabic script, meaning God.
Panasonic launched a Web-ready PC with a Woody Woodpecker theme using the slogan "Touch Woody: The Internet P e c k e r."
In 2001, Honda introduced their latest car, the Fitta, to the Nordic countries only to discover that fitta is a vulgar word that refers to a woman’s private parts in Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish. It was promptly renamed the Jazz.
The Orange mobile company found out the hard way that language and politics are very much intertwined. This was when they launched a campaign in Northern Ireland, saying: "The future’s bright, the future’s Orange." Considering it suggested support for the Orange Order, a Protestant organization, the word choice didn't go well with audiences.
Along similar lines to the Mazda minivan, the Mitsubishi Pajero wasn’t so popular in the European market, since pajero in Spanish translates to "w a n k e r."
Mercedes-Benz entered the Chinese market under the brand name "Bensi," which means "rush to die."
In the 1970s, American computer firm Wang had to change their successful slogan, "Wang Cares," in the UK. This was because wang is British slang for the male genitalia.
Sources: (Inc.) (Gulf Business)
See also: English words that have a different meaning in other languages
Coca-Cola's brand name, when first marketed in China, was translated in Mandarin as "bite the wax tadpole," or "a female horse stuffed with wax."
Colgate launched a new toothpaste in France named Cue. However, what they didn't know was that Cue was a popular French erotic magazine.
The American baby food manufacturer Gerber experienced some issues when they decided to venture into the French market. Unfortunately, they didn't notice that gerber resembles a French slang word for "to vomit." Needless to say, the brand failed both in France and French-speaking Quebec.
Hunt-Wesson Foods messed up when it introduced its baked beans in French Canada as Gros Jos, without knowing it was local slang for "big breasts."
Clairol launched a curling iron called "mist stick" in Germany, however, "mist" is German slang for manure.
In the '70s, the Swedish company Electrolux marketed its vacuum cleaners in the US with the tagline: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."
In 1991, Mazda launched the Laputa minivan, which didn't find much success in Latin America. This is because it sounded too much like the Spanish and Portuguese word for prostitute.
IKEA also ran into trouble in Germany with its Gutvik bunk beds. Gut means "good" in German, and the vik part had the same issues as Vicks. Combine everything, and you get a pretty bad name for a children’s bed.
Coors translated its 1983 campaign slogan, "turn it loose," into Spanish, except the way it was translated meant "suffer from diarrhea."
When Vicks introduced its cough drops into the German market, they were shocked to learn that the German pronunciation of "v" is "f," making Vicks slang for sexual intercourse.
Thanks to 'Pulp Fiction' (1994), you probably know that a Quarter Pounder is called a Royale in France. But what you might not know is that it was originally supposed to be launched as Gros Mec, which means "big pimp."
Parker Pens once announced to their new Spanish market that their pen "won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant." Instead of saying "it won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you," they mixed up the Spanish words avergonzar and embarazarse, the latter meaning "to get pregnant."
IKEA products were marketed in Thailand with Swedish names that in the Thai language mean "sex" and "getting to third base."
Puffs marketed its tissues in Germany, even though puff is German slang for a brothel.
Pepsi's slogan "Pepsi brings you back to life" was translated in Mandarin as "Pepsi brings you back from the grave."
The word mist translates to "poop" in German, an unfortunate fact the Irish liqueur brand Irish Mist didn't consider before branching into the German market.
Expanding your business into new territories is exciting, but it comes with its own set of challenges—and translation is a big one. When you're globalizing a brand, it's always a good idea to check whether your name, logo, or tag line means something different in the regions where you're branching out. You may think translation is a small detail, but linguistic marketing fails can pass through the ranks easily, and these big brands can prove it to you.
Click on to discover brands who got really lost in translation.
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LIFESTYLE Marketing
Expanding your business into new territories is exciting, but it comes with its own set of challenges—and translation is a big one. When you're globalizing a brand, it's always a good idea to check whether your name, logo, or tag line means something different in the regions where you're branching out. You may think translation is a small detail, but linguistic marketing fails can pass through the ranks easily, and these big brands can prove it to you.
Click on to discover brands who got really lost in translation.