Tex Texin of Translations that are Marketing Mistakes pokes fun at English mistakes from around the world, like this one:
According to the EE Times, October 8, 1996 (and numerous web sites), Matsushita Electric was promoting a Japanese PC for internet users. It came with a Japanese Web browser courtesy of Panasonic. Panasonic had licensed the cartoon character "Woody Woodpecker" as the "Internet guide."
The day before a huge marketing campaign was to begin, Panasonic stopped the product launch. The reason: the ads featured the slogan "Touch Woody - The Internet Pecker." An American at the internal product launch explained to the stunned and embarrassed Japanese what "touch woody" and "pecker" meant in American slang.
Thanks to A. Vine for pointing me at this!
That wasn't the first time I'd seen the mistake. In Funabashi, I spotted a group of kids in leather jackets bearing the Thrush Mufflers mascot along with the words, "The Wild Peckers." I had a hard time not laughing, since these guys thought they were pretty tough!
^g^