Marketing 101
from
The Media Guardian
bq. When Sharwoods launched its latest product range earlier this month, it promised the "deliciously rich" sauces based on a traditional northern Indian method of cooking would "change the way consumers make curry".
bq. So confident was Sharwoods that its new Bundh sauces would be a hit that it backed the launch with a huge £6m television advertising campaign created by Labour's advertising agency, TBWA.
bq. What it failed to foresee was that "bundh" in Punjabi has an altogether less savoury meaning - the nearest English translation being, to put it bluntly, "arse".
Whoops!
The Guardian has a
link to other advertising gaffes:
bq. KFC's "finger lickin' good" slogan was mistranslated in China as "eat your fingers off".
bq. The Ford Pinto flopped when it was launched in Brazil. Mystified executives later learned "pinto" is local slang for small genitals.
and more
Posted by DaveH at November 17, 2003 11:54 AM