The Wonders of Language
I really like Spanish because is a very intense & passionate language. Frank & I are able to comunicate good, but we also have our inside jokes because of language. We have fun comparing each others languages & culture...
A lesson in how not to market a company internationally.
The Nova Awards. These are the nominees for the Chevy Nova Award. This is given
out annually in honour of General Motor's fiasco in trying to market this car
in Central and South America. "No va" means, of course, in Spanish, "it doesn't
go".
1. The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are you lactating?"
2. Coors Beer put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read
as "Suffer From Diarrhea".
3. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American
campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux".
4. Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany only to
find out that "mist" is slang for manure.
5. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging
as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in
Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the labels of what's inside, since
many people can't read.
6. Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious
porno magazine.
7. An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market
which promoted the Pope's visit Instead of "I Saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts
read "I Saw the Potato" (la papa).
8. Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi Brings
Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.
9. The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Kekoukela", meaning "Bite
the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect.
Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "kokoukole",
translating into "happiness in the mouth".
10. Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken"
was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate".
11. When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed
to have read, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you". The company
thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the
ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant!"
12. When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather first class seats
in the Mexican market, it translated its "Fly In Leather" campaign literally,
which meant "Fly Naked" (vuela en cuero) in Spanish.
How you can tell if you're Hispanic...
- If you grew up scared of something called "el cuco".
- If you've ever left grass for the camels of the 3 kings on the night of January 5th instead of leaving cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas.
- If dinner usually consists of rice, beans and some kind of meat.
- If you like to help people.
- If you knew since 1 year old what "caca" & "correa" means.
- If you shop at "sedanos, pooblis (publix) or pueblo".
- If you now the meaning of "no da pie con bola" or you have a "saying" for everything.
- If you were raised on goya products.
- If you know "what mancha de platano" means.
- If you have ever used your nose or lips to point something out.
- If you like "alcapurrias, bacalaitos, empanadillas de pizza, piononos, bacalao con viandas y aguacate, quenepas"....
- If you have ever been hit by a "chancleta".
- If everyone respect you & don't dare to make you angry.
- If you are invited to all the parties because you dance with eveyone.
- If you know "flan, cascos de guayaba & queso blanco".
- If you are still a virgin at 16.
- If you constantly refer to cereal as "corn fleik"
- If you can tell the difference between arroz canilla and everything else, like sello rojo.
- If others tell you to stop screaming when you're really talking.
- If you've ever gone outside your house with "rolos and chancletas".
- If whenever you are angry, you spout off a torrent of "coņo", "puņeta", and/or "carajo".
- If you've ever been hit with either the cord of la plancha or la correa.
- If you know your mom is sneaking up on you because you hear the "clack-clack" of her chancletas.
- If your mother yells at the top of her lungs to call you to dinner and your room is next to the kitchen.
- If you can get to your house blindfolded because the smell of chuletas is so strong.
- If you light a candle on the night of the lotto drawing or pray 3 Ave marias & 2 Padre nuestros.
- If your house has all of those little figurines that take up every inch of space on/under the TV and you have either one of the following: a porcelain cat, dog, coqui, or elephant in your living room.
- If your house on Christmas has more lights than a Christmas tree
- If your sofa is covered in plastic If you've ever dropped food on the floor, picked it up, ate it after saying, "lo que no mata engorda".
- If you not only know who don Francisco (from sabado gigante!) is, but tell people he is your tio.
- If your mother, tia, or hermana's hair is blackcherry, "sun in", red, or a burgundy that would make Celia Cruz jealous.
- If your little sister thinks that butterfly clips are on vogue's hot list for hair accessories.
- If you go to a wedding or quinceaņera, gossiping about how bad the comida is, but are the first to take a plate to go.
- If your backyard is full of coquis, frogs & lagartijos
- If your sister has more mustache hair than your father.
- If you think Christina can beat Oprah any day. - If your uncle owns more gold than that jewelry shop down the street.
- If you can dance merengue, cumbia, and salsa without music.
- If you use manteca instead of olive oil and can't figure out why your ass is getting bigger.
- If you've tattooed the flag in your arm.
- If you just can't imagine anyone not liking Spanish food.
- If you've been in a two-passenger car with over seven people in it, with a person shouting, "caben mas!"
- If you call your sneakers "tenis"
- If your car has fifteen speakers in it and you fix it every weekend.
- If you ask " quieren cahne"
- If you have at least thirty cousins.
- If you start clapping when your plane lands on the runway.
- If you say crazy things like "me cago en diez", "yo me encojono"....
- If you consider platanos to be a food group - If you live in "guashington heights"
- If you're constantly arguing over lost land.
- If they know where to find you is with the vecina gossiping.
- If you understood all of these you're definitely Hispanic or pretty fly for a white guy...