Roger Axtell, author of The Do’s and Taboos of International Trade series, once served as vice president of worldwide marketing for The Parker Pen Company. Later, while a special adviser to the governor of Wisconsin, Axtell reported that Parker’s trademark Jotter pen had to be renamed before it could be sold in parts of Latin America where the word “jotter” means athletic supporter.
Source: White, Michael. A Short Course in International Marketing Blunders: Mistakes Made by Companies That Should Have Known Better. Novato, CA: World Trade, 2002. Print.
As an American living in Mexico, I see this sort of “mistake” all the time. Because I’m prepaing a talk on cultue and language on branding, I’ve been thinking lately of two examples–the biggest bread/cake manufacturer in Mexico is called “Bimbo” Even though I have lived here for 4.5 years, to me, as an American is a term that is used to refer to a woman with a big bust and no brains! This is compounded when I see a big busted Mexican woman wearing a Bimbo tee shirt. Just recently Bimbo has bought either “Cheesecake Factory” or some other large cheesecake company in the US. I hope someone warns them not to change the name to Bimbo!
On the other hand, due to the season, there is an enormous marketing campaign by the American “Raid” company–especially on Mexican TV. However in Spanish, the brand name “Raid” is pronunced “Ride” . While neither word has significant meaning in Spanish, To me, as an English speaker, I realize that the US company, wanted to make a subtle connection between their product and the ususal English meaning of Raid as an unannounced attack. They certainly didn’t think of how the word might be pronounced in other languages. When I see the had and hear the word “Ride” , I am amused to think that the term “ride” puts accross the idea that instead of “raiding” and killig bugs, the add, which puts the bugs in big bubbles, is “taking bugs along for the ride! In today’s international market place marketers must be both culturally and linguistically savy and think about how their brand names will be interpreted in other language and cultures.
thanks so much for this awesome comment!!
wow Suzanne thanks so much for this great reply!! you are so correct on so many accounts!