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Translations gone wrong
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?"
Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."
Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."
Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, in to Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "Manure Stick."
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 of what's inside, since many people can't read.
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).
Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.
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."
When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather first class seats in the Mexican market, it translated its "Fly In Leather" campaign literally, which meant "Fly Naked" (vuela en cuero) in Spanish.
 
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| June 26, 2006, 14:09 |
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Re: Translations gone wrong
One of my favorites has to be from General Motors. In the 1970's they tried to market the Nova in Mexico. They did not sell many as iin Spanish, Nova means "no go".
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| June 26, 2006, 15:02 |
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lizonya
64 / couple
lake elsinore, California, US
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Re: Translations gone wrong
these are great moonie! do you remember the ad for 7up where the guy walks around wearing a t-shirt that reads on the front, "make 7" and then turns around to show the back of his shirt that reads, "up yours" ? I died laughing!
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| June 26, 2006, 16:14 |
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Re: Re: Translations gone wrong
QUOTE (lizonya @ June 26, 2006, 16:14)these are great moonie! do you remember the ad for 7up where the guy walks around wearing a t-shirt that reads on the front, "make 7" and then turns around to show the back of his shirt that reads, "up yours" ? I died laughing!
yes, i do remember those and loved them. I was surprized how long they did run.
another is an ad Phillips lighting did.
It shows an older lady vacuuming her living room with a cat sitting in the middle of it.
suddenly the light burns out and all you hear is vacuum cleaner slowing and a cat making very loud crying and screeching noises. 
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| June 26, 2006, 16:24 |
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lizonya
64 / couple
lake elsinore, California, US
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Re: Translations gone wrong
awww  that's just evil!
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| June 26, 2006, 16:28 |
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40something
57 / female
In the Sun, Arizona, US
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Re: Translations gone wrong
but soo good!
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| June 26, 2006, 17:00 |
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