From: Stephen Years
Subject: Top 10 Marketing Goofs
Date: Fri, 08 Mar 1996
To: soup@hotwired.com

10. Chevrolet Nova didn't do well in Spanish speaking countries ...
    Nova means 'No Go' ...

9.  Bacardi concocted a fruity drink with the name 'Pavian' to
    suggest French chic ... but 'Pavian' means 'baboon' in German.

8.  A peanut-packed chocolate bar targeted at Japanese teenagers
    needing energy while cramming for exams ran headlong into a belief
    that eating peanuts and chocolate causes nosebleeds.

7.  Parker Pens translated the slogan for its ink, "Avoid
    Embarassment  - Use Quink" into Spanish as "Evite Embarazos - Use
    Quink" ... which  also means "Avoid Pregnancy - Use Quink."

6.  When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used
    the same packaging as in the USA - the cute baby on the label.
    Later,  when investigating lower than expected sales figures, they
    found out  that it is common practice in Africa to put pictures of
    the contents on  food package labels.

5.  Coors slogan, "Turn it Loose," translated into Spanish as "Suffer
    From Diarrhea."

4.  Puffs tissues had a bad name in Germany since "Puff" is a
    colloquial term for whorehouse.

3.  Jolly Green Giant translated into Arabic means "Intimidating
    Green Ogre."

2.  When Coca-Cola first came to China, it was given a similar
    sounding  name ... but the characters used for the name meant "Bite
    the Wax tadpole."

1.  Chicken magnate Frank Perdue wants us to know that "It takes a
    tough man to make a tender chicken," but the Spanish translation came
    out as "It takes a sexually stimulated man to make a chicken
    affectionate."