| Wednesday, March 29, 2006 |
| UNFORTUNATE PRODUCT NAMES |
A corporate or product name can symbolize more than intended, especially whne that name is used in other lands. Today's multinational markets require sensitivity to other cultures to otjer cultures, as many companies have learned the hard way.
1. NOVALatin American buyers were a bit reluctant to purchase this Chevrolet; in Spanish, no va means "doesn't go". So for those markets, the car was renamed Caribe.
2. GROS JOS
Hunt-Wesson introduced its Big John products in Canada before realizing that the name, which translated to Gros Jos, was French Canadian slang for "big breasts". However, sales did not suffer from the tanslation.
3. PINTO
The Ford Pinto suffered image problem when it went on sale in Brazil -- pinto is Portuguese slang for "small male genitals" For Brazilian buyers, Ford changed the name to Corcei, which means "horse".
4. BITE THE WAX TADPOLE
When Coca-Cola expanded into China in the 1920s, the company chose Chinese cahracters which, when pronounced, would sound like the Englosh name for the drink. Those particular Chinese letters, though, actually translated to "bite the wax tadpole" or "wax flattened mare". The company now uses characters that mean "good mouth, good pleasure" or "happiness in the mouth".
5. PLEDGE
The Johnson Company retained the American name of the wax product when it was introduced in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, in Dutch it means "piss", making it difficult for shoppers to ask for Pledge. The product survived because most Dutch retail stores converted to self-service.
6. TIRE TREAD DESIGN
The Yokohama Rubber Company was forced to withdraw hundreds of tires from the sultanate of Brunei when Islamic authorities compalined that the tread design resembled the word for ALLAH.
(Source: BOOK OF LISTS by: David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 4:00 AM |
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Name: infraternam meam
Home: Chicago, United States
About Me: I am now at the prime of my life
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