When a company decides to sell its products or services abroad, one of the first problems it faces is the adaptation of the brand and its image to the target country and language. Many brand names and related slogans cannot always be translated literally, especially for those languages with completely different structures (think for example of the difference between Latin and Asian languages).
Not surprisingly, this has occasionally led to linguistic oversights that are hilarious to say the least, but for the companies behind the marketing campaigns, it may not have been so pleasant. Let us look together at some examples of translations where the advertising message created some misunderstandings.
General Motors, when entering the Mexican market with its new car, experienced a sharp drop in sales due to the name of the model in question ‘Nova’, which to a Mexican sounds similar to an ominous ‘no va’, i.e. ‘does not go’. Not exactly what a consumer expects from his newly purchased car.
Clariol, a brand known for its cosmetics products, had an embarrassing misunderstanding with its German customers over a curling iron called ‘Mist Stick’, in Italian ‘ferro a vapore’. Too bad that in German ‘mist’ means excrement or dung and, as a result, its launch caused quite a stir in Germany, considering that ‘Miststück’ is also a word used as an insult.
Then, when we think of translations from Chinese and vice versa, mistakes are just around the corner if a highly competent translator is not available. This is the case, for example, of this restaurant, which cannot be considered lacking in originality. So, always remember to rely on a professional for your translations if they are of particular importance. Finking is here to serve you and offer you the best from our translators and interpreters!
