This one is a hot potato!
A t-shirt manufacturer in Miami printed shirts in Spanish to commemorate the Pope’s visit. By referring to the Pontiff as “la papa” instead of “el Papa”, their shirts read: “I saw the potato.”
Rise from the grave with Pepsi!
In the early 1970’s, Pepsi-Cola introduced a new catch phrase to promote its product: “Come Alive!” Sounds good in English, but the problems “arose” (pun intended) when Pepsi took the campaign slogan overseas. In Germany the phrase meant, “Rise from the grave with Pepsi!” – In China the phrase meant, “Pepsi brings back your ancestors!” …
What a tasty treat!
When American fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken opened their first restaurant in Beijing in 1987, they accidentally translated KFC’s famous slogan, “Finger-lickin’ good” to “Eat Your Fingers Off!” in Chinese.
Small mosquito, on the inside it is very cold!
Backtranslation is one of the best techniques available to reduce translation errors. An Australian soft drink company discovered the value of backtranslation during the planning stages of its entry into the Hong Kong market. The company had hoped to employ its successful slogan “Baby, it’s cold inside,” but before using the translated version of the …