Top 13 Worst Slogan Translations

Moronland posted a great list that compiles 13 examples of ad translations gone wrong.  The list provides a perfect example of how every aspect of your business and marketing communications can affect your brand and bottomline.  Translations are particularly difficult, so when you’re marketing in other countries or in different languages, make sure your copy translates appropriately.

Here is a snapshot of Moronland’s list of the top 13 worst slogan translations:

• Parker Pen: “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you.” translated to, “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.” for their ad campaign in Mexico. 
• Electrolux: Scandinavian ad slogan translated into English for an American ad campaign as, “Nothing sucks like Electrolux.”
• Clairol: The “Mist Stick” deoderant name translated into “Manure Stick” in German ads.
• Coors: The “Turn it Loose” campaign translated into Spanish as “Suffer from Diarrhea.” 
• Pepsi: “Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation” translated into “Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave” in Chinese.
• Gerber: In Africa, products usually have pictures of what is inside on the label as many Africans can’t read.  Imagine what people thought when the saw a picture of a baby on Gerber labels.
• Colgate: Its French toothpaste called Cue was the same name as a well-known pornographic magazine.
• Perdue: The slogan, “It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken,” translated in Spanish to, “It takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate.”
• American Airlines: To advertise their leather seats, American Airlines used the slogan, “Fly in Leather,” which translated in Spanish for the market in Mexico as, “Fly Naked.” 
• Miami T-Shirt Maker: To celebrate the Pope’s visit, t-shirts were printed in Spanish, which were meant to say, “I saw the Pope.”  Poor translation left the shirts saying, “I saw the potato.”
• Milk: The “Got Milk?” campaign translated into Spanish for the market in Mexico said, “Are you Lactating?”
• General Motors: The Nova car did not go over well in Central and South America where it translated to “It doesn’t go.”
• Coca-Cola: Naming Coca-Cola in the Chinese market proved challenging.  The first name used, “Kekoukela” translated actually meant, “Bite the wax tadpole,” or in another dialect, it meant, “Female horse stuffed with wax.”

Check out the post at Moronland to read some interesting details about each of these slogan translation mishaps.  Can you think of any other examples?