Are You Lactating?

[FreeThinker]

An article in the Huffington Post lists several unfortunate product names and advertising slogans that don't quite translate the way they were intended, including:

The American Dairy Association's "Got milk?" slogan in Spanish is "Are you lactating?"

IKEA's children's bed, the Gutvik, is German slang for "Good f**k,"

Coca-Cola translates into Madarin as "Bite the wax tadpole,"

And, my favorite, the old Ford Pinto in Spanish meant "Little d*ck."

Here's the link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/10/lost-in-translation-brands_n_1765812.html

[Merkin]

The old Ford Pinto in English was pretty close to the Spanish, if not worse.

[FreeThinker]

It works the other way, too. The Swedes were confused why "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux" didn't go over in America.

[Gee Whillickers]

Personally, I still have trouble keeping a straight face when talking about Wang office equipment.

[Lugnutz]

Personally, I still have trouble keeping a straight face when talking about Wang office equipment.

You just want to show everyone your Wang.

[Guest Dabeagle]

Reminds me of an old joke. Who was the first computer operator? Eve. She had an Apple in one hand and a Wang in the other...

[colinian]

My dad always wondered how the Chevrolet Nova ever sold in Spanish speaking countries. It translates to no go.

Colin

[dude]

Er... a common spelling of Wang, written in Chinese, means King.

[FreeThinker]

Er... a common spelling of Wang, written in Chinese, means King.

Well, in that case, I don't mean to brag, but... just call me Your Majesty.

[The Pecman]

My dad always wondered how the Chevrolet Nova ever sold in Spanish speaking countries. It translates to no go.

And if you remember Enco Gasoline in the 1970s, "Enco" in Japanese is very close to the phrase for "stalled car." Bad choice for a brand name there.

[colinian]

When my granddad went to Japan on business he'd try to collect things with particularly fractured English names and bring them back. One was a beverage with the delightful name "Calpis". Really. I still have an (empty) can from a vending machine packed away in a box somwhere at my folk's house.

Here's a Japanese TV ad for this product. Watch for the product name at the end of the commercial.

Colin