How translation errors can be costly for multinational companies

Globalisation has completely changed the way a product is sold. Entering the international market poses a challenge for marketing. We must not only consider whether the product is suitable for a specific country, but also how to sell it so that it appeals to the consumer. Having an external translation agency or an in-house team of translators for the marketing department becomes essential. Google Translate should never be the final solution for translating our product.

In his blog, Glenn Fleishman outlines some examples of a poorly translated instruction manual for a bike stand. The disastrous translation of the instructions leads to hilarious sentences such as “If you felt any troubles about your BIKE TOWER-3100, you must stop using soon.” I doubt the company sought that result. It is quite embarrassing to see how little effort is put into something as essential as instructions for use. It is time to learn from the mistakes of large multinationals. If you have a company and want to conquer the international market, repeat this mantra with me: A poorly translated product or slogan equals a failed project.

1. The costly mistake of literal translation

Braniff Airlines wanted to promote their leather seats in their airplanes. The slogan “Fly in leather” had appeal in the US. However, the literal translation “Vuela en cueros” for Spanish-speaking countries did not, as “en cueros” means naked. Marketing translation is a serious and complex matter. In this case, by using a literal translation, foreign target countries were not considered. What seemed like a perfect slogan to the company would seem like a joke to Spanish-speaking consumers.

2. The false friends of translation

Parker Pen had a good slogan with a clear message: “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you”. So far so good. A company selling fountain pens assures you that their product will not stain your clothes. You can put the pen in your shirt pocket without any worry. What’s the problem then? Something any translation agency would consider: the word “embarrassed” is a false friend in Spanish. The slogan in Spanish-speaking countries ended up like this: "No goteará en tu bolsillo ni te dejará embarazada” (It won’t leak in your pocket and get you pregnant). Laughter erupts. Parker, what is the raw material of your fountain pen ink?

3. Brands with unfortunate meanings

The car Mazda Laputa was marketed in the US. However, they did not consider that many citizens speak Spanish and that the car name means “prostitute”. Imagine a family meal where they are about to start eating, but one of the attendees' father says, “Let's wait a bit, my son is coming with Laputa.” What was meant to be a normal family gathering quickly turns into a circus of endless laughter or an embarrassing situation.

The Mitsubishi Pajero was renamed Mitsubishi Montero in Spain. The problem? It is the same case as the previous one. When marketing the car in the US, they did not consider the high number of Spanish speakers in the country and that pajero means “wanker” in Spanish. Unless, of course, the vehicle was targeting a very... specific audience. Let the imagination fly.

4. Translating without considering slang is costly

Honda Fitta. The name of this Honda model would not sound strange to us. However the problem arose in Sweden, Denmark and Norway because “Fitta” is a vulgar term for female genitals in these countries. Imagine a Swedish girl suggesting to her friends to take a ride in her Fitta… The benefit of having a good translation company is undeniable. A good translator considers not only the vocabulary of the language they translate or adapt, but they also take into account the slang people use.

Electrolux. The Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer came up with a slogan in the 70s to sell one of its vacuum cleaners: “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux”. The problem is that, although “suck“ indeed means to suction, it also means “to be awful” in more colloquial contexts. The appropriate choice would have been to use the verb “vacuum”. The result of this made it seem that the marketing sector was taking revenge on the company. What could be understood is something like “There’s nothing worse than an Electrolux”. If they sell it to me like that, I'd rather buy another vacuum cleaner, thanks.

5. Brands that do not pass the cultural screening of a translator

Colgate-Palmolive is an American company dedicated to selling hygiene and personal care products. One of its products, the Cue toothpaste, was put on sale in France without changing its name. Unfortunately, they overlooked the fact that there was an erotic magazine called Cue in France. I imagine the French asking themselves if they are buying toothpaste or adult entertainment.

6. How phonetics influences translation

Coca-Cola ran into trouble when entering the Chinese market for the first time. In an effort to make the brand name sound more familiar phonetically, the result /Kekoukela/ ended up sounding like “bite the wax tadpole”. Hardly a refreshing image. Finally, Coca-Cola adapted the phonetics with great success: /Kokoukole/ or “happiness in the mouth.”

7. Conclusion

Undoubtedly, large companies also make mistakes. These errors are solved thanks to professionals who translate and interpret from one language to another. If you found this topic interesting, check out the book: Brand Failures: The Truth About the 100 Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time To keep smiling until the end of this blog, here are some translation errors that invade restaurant menus in Spain:

Tocino de cielo or “Bacon of sky”, Rueda de ahumados or “It rotates of smokey”, Sudado de Trucha or “Sweater Gives Trout”, Ternera jardinera or “Veal gardener”?