The Worst Slogan Translations Ever

1. Paulo
   August 15th, 2007 at 7:20 pm

   Unfortunately the post falls for the old Chevy No Va urban legend, and I’m pretty sure they haven’t checked sources thoroughly for the other stuff either.

2. Jsahko
   August 15th, 2007 at 7:21 pm

   This is sad. It’s really old. They just added logos to an old internet viral thingy - that probably came from a magazine or gag book. What would be nice is if someone re-compiled these with the “actual” ads they are discussing.

3. David
   August 15th, 2007 at 7:48 pm

   Actually, the term “the real McCoy” was coined for engineering works of Elijah McCoy. He built parts for steam engines and there were many copycats to his work, often leaving engine owners wondering if the parts they were paying for were “the Real McCoy”.

4. Mr Pudifoot
   August 15th, 2007 at 9:19 pm

   David, i think you meant to post that in the “7 Underhanded Sports Tactics” comment section.

5. kerozene
   August 15th, 2007 at 11:22 pm

   ok… I lol’ed. Not sure how true many of those were, but still silly.

6. Edward
   August 15th, 2007 at 11:45 pm

   http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp

   For a scholarly piece on the No Va urban legend.

7. Villinte
   August 16th, 2007 at 2:06 am

   Electrolux used that slogan in Sweden as well. It’s called humor.

8. Jonathan (of the Japan Journal)
   August 16th, 2007 at 4:42 am

   http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/tadpole.asp

9. Sid Morrison
   August 16th, 2007 at 7:44 am

   How about funny REAL slogans that maybe are a bit dated now?

   My all-time favorite is for Schaefer Beer, a once-popular U.S. swill beer. The tagline in the jingle went:

   “Schaefer is the one beer to have when you’re having more than one!”

   What could be more hilarious than that?!!? “Our beer really sucks, but it’s cheap, so it’s a fine choice when you really want to get plastered and quantity is better than quality”

   Many years later (this slogan was around for years), after public consciousness about “responsible drinking” became raised, they changed the slogan to “Schaefer is the one beer to have when you’re out to have some fun” Very very lame.

10. matt
    August 16th, 2007 at 7:56 am

    ahhh, simpsons…

    Mr. Sparkle: [in Japanese; subtitled]
    I’m disrespectful to dirt. Can you see that I am serious?
    Out of my way, all of you. This is no place for loafers!
    Join me or die! Can you do any less?

    Women:
    What a brave corporate logo! I accept the challenge of Mr. Sparkle.

    Woman #1:
    Awesome power!

11. JTPednaud
    August 16th, 2007 at 8:04 am

    As others have pointed out, the article is festered with urban legends. The Nova myth, the ‘wax tadpole’ but the most infamous is the Gerber label myth.

12. Michael
    August 16th, 2007 at 11:08 am

    Toilet paper from sulfur island.

    One Chinese translation of letters from Iwo Jima.

13. DCer
    August 16th, 2007 at 3:29 pm

    Man, who still falls for these bogus stories? My Spanish teacher corrected us on the Nova story in 1985.

14. Vladimir Skliar
    August 28th, 2007 at 12:28 pm

    In Russia, we had posters of a huge electric supply retailers around Moscow advertising the vacuum cleaners with the poster of a hot girl holding a vacuum cleaner with the slogan “Suck for pennies”…

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