Brand Failures_ The Truth About the 100 Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time - Matt Haig [64]
Lesson from Hallmark
Brands need to acknowledge cultural differences. Very few brands have been able to be transferred into different cultures without changes to their formula. Even Coca-Cola and McDonald’s vary their products for different markets.
Translation troubles
Often the problems inherent in international markets relate to translation trouble. The language of commerce may be one which everyone understands, but many businesses have made massive branding mistakes when trying to replicate the success of their advertising campaigns in markets where their native tongue isn’t spoken.
Outlined below are just some of the biggest faux pas that have occurred through international marketing.
50 Pepsi in Taiwan
In order to keep a singular identity throughout the world, many companies stick with the same marketing campaign and brand message in every country. However, this occasionally creates difficulties. For instance, in Taiwan Pepsi’s advertising slogan ‘Come alive with the Pepsi generation’ was translated as ‘Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.’
51 Schweppes Tonic Water in Italy
In Italy, a promotional campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water failed when the product name was translated as ‘Schweppes Toilet Water’. Subsequent campaigns have had better results.
52 Chevy Nova and others
Of all products, cars have had the most translation problems. When people chuckled at General Motors’ Chevy Nova in Latin America, the automotive giant was perplexed. Until, that is, someone pointed out that ‘Nova’ means ‘It doesn’t go’ in Spanish. Then there was the Mitsubishi Pajero sport utility that caused embarrassment in Spain, where ‘pajero’ is slang for ‘masturbator’. Toyota’s Fiera car proved controversial in Puerto Rico, where ‘fiera’ translates to ‘ugly old woman’. Likewise few Germans were enthusiastic about owning Rolls-Royce’s ‘Silver Animal Droppings’ car. To the English speaking world it bears the more romantic name ‘Silver Mist’. And finally, Ford didn’t have the reception they expected in Brazil when their ‘Pinto’ car flopped. Then they discovered that in Brazilian Portuguese slang, ‘pinto’ means ‘small penis’.
53 Electrolux in the United States
Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux raised a few eyebrows in the United States when it came up with the slogan ‘Nothing sucks like an Electrolux’. It later reworked its strap line.
54 Gerber in Africa
When baby food manufacturer Gerber started to sell its products in Africa it used the same packaging as for Western markets. This packaging included a picture of a baby boy on the label. Surprised at low sales, Gerber discovered that in Africa, as most customers can’t read English, Western companies generally put pictures on the label of what’s inside.
55 Coors in Spain
Coors beer had equally bad luck in Spain with its ‘Turn it loose’ slogan. It translated as ‘You will suffer from diarrhoea’.
56 Frank Perdue’s chicken in Spain
Sticking with Spain, US food brand Frank Perdue’s chicken campaign created confusion with the strap line ‘It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken.’ In Spain this became ‘It takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate.’
57 Clairol’s Mist Stick in Germany
When Clairol launched its ‘Mist Stick’ curling iron in Germany, the company apparently had no idea that ‘Mist’ was a slang term for manure. The company discovered that few women were crying out for a manure stick.
58 Parker Pens in Mexico
Parker Pens alarmed its Mexican market with ads intended to read ‘It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you’ because, in fact, the ad stated ‘It won’t leak in your pocket and impregnate you.’ The company had managed to confuse ‘embarrass’ with the Spanish verb ‘embrazar’ or ‘to impregnate’.
59 American Airlines in Mexico
When American Airlines decided to advertise the luxurious aspect of flying business class to their Mexican customers, they thought it would make sense to focus on the leather seats. They therefore used the slogan