[AccessD] International marketing becarefuls

This is perhaps a day early, since it's humourous, but it is also on point
for those of use who attempt to market internationally.

 

1.  The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got
     Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was
     soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read
     "Are you lactating?"

2.  Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it
     was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."

3.  Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following
     in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."

4.  Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into
     Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not
     too many people had use for the "Manure Stick."

5.  When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the
     same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the
     label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely
     put pictures on the labels depicting the contents, since many
     people can't read.

6.  Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name
     of a notorious porno magazine.

7.  An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the
     Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I
     saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw the Potato"
     (la papa).

8.  Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into
     "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.

9.  The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Kekoukela",
     meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with
     wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000
     characters to find a phonetic equivalent "kokou kole",
     translating into "happiness in the mouth."