Lost in translation... mistakes certain businesses would rather forget
1) The Pepsi slogan, “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” translated in Taiwanese became, “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead”. Not only a bit creepy by culturally, it was an insult.
2) In China, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan “finger-lickin' good” became “eat your fingers off”. Again, implying an action considered rude and uncivilised in Chinese culture.
3) Beer manufacturer Coors tried to translate its slogan, “Turn it loose”, into Spanish. It went horribly wrong when it was read as “Suffer from diarrhoea”.
4) Perdue's slogan, “it takes a strong man to make a tender chicken”, translated in Spanish to, “It takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate”.
5) To advertise their leather seats, American Airlines used the slogan, “Fly in Leather”, which translated in Spanish for the market in Mexico as, “Fly naked”.
6) In China, the Coca-Cola name was first read as “ke-kou-ke-la”, meaning “Bite the wax tadpole”, or “Female horse stuffed with wax”, depending on the dialect.
7) When General Motors introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, the company was unaware that “No Va” meant “It won't go”.
8) Ford had a similar problem in Brazil when the Pinto flopped. The company found that Pinto was Brazilian slang for “Tiny male genitals”.
9) In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated into “Schweppes Toilet Water”.
10) Japan's second-largest tourist agency was mystified when it entered English-speaking markets and kept receiving sex tour requests. Upon finding out why, the owners of Kinki Nippon Tourist Company quickly changed its name.
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