English Misadventure in Marketing.

By Alex in Everything Else on Feb 26, 2007 at 12:42 am

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!

See more: Link – via Eduyayo

Neat stuff from the NeatoShop:

Ben
Feb 26th, 2007 at 5:48 am
Theres a rather infamous, apparently true story, about a disgruntled bilingual copy writer who was asked to think up a byline for the now “merged” “Daiichi Kangyo Bank” whose logo included a small heart. Just before quitting his job with a large ad agency, he offered up copy for the bank which was apparently used in ads and commercials before the problem was discovered and rectified: Daiichi Kangyo Bank – “The Bank With a Heart On”
yayo
Feb 26th, 2007 at 6:40 am
Mitsubishi “Pajero” changed its name in Spain to “Montero” (Mountaineer… or the like) because “Pajero” in Spain is an onanist…
^g^
diinzumo
Feb 26th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
There was actually a National “Touch Woody” billboard by the train station in Ofuna back in ’96. I passed it on my way home from work.

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!
Nathan B.
Feb 27th, 2007 at 11:45 am
And “Thrush Mufflers” isn’t worth a chuckle?

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