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Poll: In your experience, where do client brands make the biggest cultural localization mistakes?
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ProZ.com Staff
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Oct 17

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "In your experience, where do client brands make the biggest cultural localization mistakes?".

This poll was originally submitted by Ana Moirano. View the poll results »
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
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Other Oct 17

All of the above? When mistakes happen they are often quite hilarious, even though they are unintentional. This is because some brands assume that domestic marketing templates will resonate identically in foreign markets. AFAIK most of the blunders in advertising are related to the automotive industry. For instance, in Portugal, Hyundai uses the name Hyundai Kauai instead of the model’s official name because this word sounds similar to a very inappropriate term in European Portuguese, the same... See more
All of the above? When mistakes happen they are often quite hilarious, even though they are unintentional. This is because some brands assume that domestic marketing templates will resonate identically in foreign markets. AFAIK most of the blunders in advertising are related to the automotive industry. For instance, in Portugal, Hyundai uses the name Hyundai Kauai instead of the model’s official name because this word sounds similar to a very inappropriate term in European Portuguese, the same happened years ago with another car brand... ▲ Collapse


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Sebastian Witte
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Jennifer Levey
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Ah, fond memories of ... Oct 17

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:

All of the above? When mistakes happen they are often quite hilarious, even though they are unintentional. This is because some brands assume that domestic marketing templates will resonate identically in foreign markets. AFAIK most of the blunders in advertising are related to the automotive industry. For instance, in Portugal, Hyundai uses the name Hyundai Kauai instead of the model’s official name because this word sounds similar to a very inappropriate term in European Portuguese, the same happened years ago with another car brand...


... the raised eyebrows when the Rolls Royce 'Silver Mist' was launched onto the German market.

Thayenga
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Daryo
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As an individual translator Oct 19

it's impossible to give a 'representative' answer - even if you specialised for years in marketing / advertising.

My guess would be that ignoring that people in other countries have their own 'frames of references' - not always entirely clear from what's available outside of it - is bound to never end well ...

The one example that struck me as an unbelievable amateurish mistake was to plaster all over Northern Ireland adverts saying 'The future is ORANGE'. [see ... See more
it's impossible to give a 'representative' answer - even if you specialised for years in marketing / advertising.

My guess would be that ignoring that people in other countries have their own 'frames of references' - not always entirely clear from what's available outside of it - is bound to never end well ...

The one example that struck me as an unbelievable amateurish mistake was to plaster all over Northern Ireland adverts saying 'The future is ORANGE'. [see “The Future’s Bright, the Future’s Orange” – Mobile telephone advertising campaign 1994]
Fine as advertising slogan anywhere else, but in Northern Ireland 'The future is ORANGE' was very predictably never going to go down well with one half of the local population.
What was the whole fuss about? see https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-future-s-not-so-bright-as-orange-gets-the-red-light-in-ulster-1328424.html
Ah well - even that article would leave you mystified as to why the orange colour would be locally such a source of trouble. A hint: check what is the 'Orange Order' and the 'Orange Order marches' .... and how they often end. ▲ Collapse
 


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Poll: In your experience, where do client brands make the biggest cultural localization mistakes?






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