As well as slogans the actual model of the product you are buying may well become an instantly recognisable brand that helps sales.

Think Car names and the name DB-7 conjure up images of driving a sports care with enough quality to turn 99% of men green with envy.

However direct translations of a marketing campaign from English into an exotic foreign language or a lack of ground work or the meaning of words doesn’t always work as the following examples prove;

  • General Motors’ Chevy Nova  - This car failed to make an impact in Latin America. Whichever bright spark came up with the name “Nova” obviously didnt realise that it means  “It doesn’t go” in Spanish.
  • Coors translated its American slogan, “Turn it loose,” from English into Spanish, the translation came out as “Suffer from diarrhea.”
  • The Ford Pinto failed to make a BIG impression on the car market in Brazil. Ford failed to do their brand name research when they introduced Pinto to the market not realising that in Brazilian Portuguese slang “pinto” means “small penis”.
  • Pepsi’s “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” didnt translate too well when they launched an assult on the Chinese market. It translated into “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave,”.
  • When Gerber attempted to start selling baby food in Africa they simply used the same packaging as they do in the U.S., no doubt in attempt to cut out on expensive rebranding costs. The beautiful baby pictured on the label is a good pull in the States but they later realised that it was common practice in africa to put pictures on the label of what is in the jar!!
  • An American T-shirt maker in Miami tried to cash in on the Popes visit by targetting the Spanish market. Unfortunately the translator must have had a shot too many of tequila before setting down to work and instead of “I saw the Pope”, el papa in Spanish, the text on the shirts read “I saw the potato”  which is la papa.