The Dangers of Translating Brand Names
April 7, 2008 by Susan Gunelius
Filed under Marketing
There have been many examples of U.S. brand names or ad copy that have not translated well into other languages, but what about brand names of products from other countries? How do those translate to the American market.
Thanks to Scott White at Brand Identity Guru for pointing me to his posts with these humorous examples of brand translation gone wrong.
The lesson to learn – when you select your brand name, make sure it works not just in your own backyard, but around the globe if your product could one day expand to international markets (or be prepared to change your brand name for international markets).
Images courtesy of The Branding Blog
Tags: branding, international branding, brand names, global branding
Er, um, I hate to correct some of those examples but maybe I can explain from a Brit’s angle.
Spotted Dick is a traditional dessert in the UK. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_Dick
This example is therefore not a “translation”!
The same applies to Horlicks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horlicks) which goes back donkey’s years in the UK, before terms like hoare etc were common. Therefore also not quite a translation!
Maybe I misunderstand the post and you mean just “adopting” from another Anglophone market and not translating. A bit like the problem we have in the UK with “Bum” gear and “Lays” chips neither of which ring right to us in the UK…
Bum/arse: http://alex.woodruff.de/ice-cream-two-arses/)
Lay:
http://alex.woodruff.de/chipping-away-at-the-design/
Hearing ‘horlicks’ for the first time in your life might sound mildly amusing, here in the UK saying that something ‘has gone completely horlicks’ means that it went horribly wrong or crap…while others might argue it’s just another way of saying ‘b*llocks’
No excuse for Spotted Dick, those wankers taught us English for God’s sakes.
Well, deary, the expression is “for God’s sake” so obviously you didn’t learn much. Bugger off and destroy someone else’s world with your military arrogance and cultural naivity. In case you hadn’t noticed, you’re not wanted on this planet.
All opinions are welcome on Brandcurve. Just a friendly reminder to please attack the argument, not each other.
Spotted Dicks is a product name. While I don’t think the product would be a great success over here it is a big seller in the UK. However in the picture it’s Heinz that is the brand so it would have to be a product rename if it were to launch over here.