6 ms·

In appears this isn't actually the case, it was an Opel Corsa from the start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Chevy_II_/_Nova#Urban_legend https://en.wi

by jarek 11y ago

In appears this isn't actually the case, it was an Opel Corsa from the start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Chevy_II_/_Nova#Urban_legend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Chevy_II_/_Nova#Urba...

chris_wot 11y ago
All right. I guess I've got to up my game. The Office of Government Control (OGC) in the UK spent quite a lot of money on a new logo. Once it was put on a mouse mat, they pulled it pretty quickly. The logo: http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hVfE2qcyzXU/TMrokymnKiI/AAAAAAAAA4I/PNl0XTISFpQ/s800/logo-design-fail-ogc.jpg http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hVfE2qcyzXU/TMrokymnKiI/AAAAAAAAA4I/PN... The UK's Telegraph covered it pretty well: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1901656/OGC-unveils-new-logo-to-red-faces.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1901656/OGC-unveils-new-logo...
blowski 11y ago
There have been quite a few car name mishaps though: * Mazda Laputa - 'the whore' in Spanish * Buick LaCrosse - slang for masturbation in Canada (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3208501.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3208501.stm) * Kia Provo - nickname for the IRA (an Irish terrorist group) (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21678741 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21678741) * And Ford Pinto - Brazilian slang for 'penis'
- yongjik 11y ago
  My favorite car name mishap doesn't even involve i18n. Hyundai Sonata was introduced in 1985 and was a reasonably popular model... ...until the next year someone realized that "sona ta" is a Korean expression meaning "Only a cow would ride that." In Korean characters, the car is now spelled "Ssonata".
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- slavik81 11y ago
  I'm surprised they didn't just rename it the Buick Lacrosse, after Canada's official sport.
- jarek 11y ago
  It appears the Mazda was never sold outside Japan and the Kia was only a concept vehicle. Additionally the Buick is now called LaCrosse in Canada. So probably not as impactful as it might seem...
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > Mazda Laputa - 'the whore' in Spanish Laputa is not "the whore" in Spanish. "La puta" is "the whore" in Spanish, but its not pronounced the same as "Laputa" would be, and is as distinct from it as many other pairs of words (or, in this case, pairs of things where one is a word and one is a phrase) with very different meanings are in Spanish.
  - leoc 11y ago
    According to the WP article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laputa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laputa it's close enough that various Spanish-language editions of Gulliver's Travels have altered the word to something else (though a citation is lacking). (It's almost certain that Swift was fully aware of the meaning, by the way, especially since we can be sure that he'd read the Apocalypse of John.)
  - pvaldes 11y ago
    The sad reality is that nobody cares in spanish speaking countries how is pronounced in other countries, specially when you are using Newspapers and Posters to reach your target. And the subsequent try to fix it leads to a pedantic "It's Frankensteen effect" that is even worse. Lots of companies fall in this trap all the time. "Laputa" and "La puta" are the same for a spanish speaker. Good luck trying to convince women or young couples to buy a car with something not much different to "madge theprostitute" written in fancy letters on a side. Or telling your clients that drive "thebitch" is more safe, or that refill "thewhore" deposit is cheaper and there is capacity for lots of people and tools. "Puta" is a complicated word in spanish that not always have negative connotations, but is too colloquial, never elegant, and a big minefield for non spanish speakers. In this case it almost worked... but not. Is not even funny. Is a huge and really strange marketing mistake.
    - jarek 11y ago
      The car in question was a kei car not sold outside Japan, so "huge and really strange marketing mistake" might be overstating the actual effect a bit. It's not like it would have had Corolla-like sales with a different name. Lots of words mean strange things in other languages, most of the time it's not really an issue. The name of the German lightbulb brand Osram, sold in Poland under the same name, literally means "I will shit on it" in Polish. Doesn't seem to have impacted sales much. Occasionally kids will have a giggle.

by jarek 11y ago

chris_wot 11y ago

All right. I guess I've got to up my game. The Office of Government Control (OGC) in the UK spent quite a lot of money on a new logo. Once it was put on a mouse mat, they pulled it pretty quickly. The logo: http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hVfE2qcyzXU/TMrokymnKiI/AAAAAAAAA4I/PNl0XTISFpQ/s800/logo-design-fail-ogc.jpg http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hVfE2qcyzXU/TMrokymnKiI/AAAAAAAAA4I/PN... The UK's Telegraph covered it pretty well: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1901656/OGC-unveils-new-logo-to-red-faces.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1901656/OGC-unveils-new-logo...

blowski 11y ago

There have been quite a few car name mishaps though: * Mazda Laputa - 'the whore' in Spanish * Buick LaCrosse - slang for masturbation in Canada (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3208501.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3208501.stm) * Kia Provo - nickname for the IRA (an Irish terrorist group) (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21678741 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21678741) * And Ford Pinto - Brazilian slang for 'penis'

yongjik 11y ago
My favorite car name mishap doesn't even involve i18n. Hyundai Sonata was introduced in 1985 and was a reasonably popular model... ...until the next year someone realized that "sona ta" is a Korean expression meaning "Only a cow would ride that." In Korean characters, the car is now spelled "Ssonata".
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
slavik81 11y ago
I'm surprised they didn't just rename it the Buick Lacrosse, after Canada's official sport.
jarek 11y ago
It appears the Mazda was never sold outside Japan and the Kia was only a concept vehicle. Additionally the Buick is now called LaCrosse in Canada. So probably not as impactful as it might seem...
dragonwriter 11y ago
> Mazda Laputa - 'the whore' in Spanish Laputa is not "the whore" in Spanish. "La puta" is "the whore" in Spanish, but its not pronounced the same as "Laputa" would be, and is as distinct from it as many other pairs of words (or, in this case, pairs of things where one is a word and one is a phrase) with very different meanings are in Spanish.
- leoc 11y ago
  According to the WP article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laputa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laputa it's close enough that various Spanish-language editions of Gulliver's Travels have altered the word to something else (though a citation is lacking). (It's almost certain that Swift was fully aware of the meaning, by the way, especially since we can be sure that he'd read the Apocalypse of John.)
- pvaldes 11y ago
  The sad reality is that nobody cares in spanish speaking countries how is pronounced in other countries, specially when you are using Newspapers and Posters to reach your target. And the subsequent try to fix it leads to a pedantic "It's Frankensteen effect" that is even worse. Lots of companies fall in this trap all the time. "Laputa" and "La puta" are the same for a spanish speaker. Good luck trying to convince women or young couples to buy a car with something not much different to "madge theprostitute" written in fancy letters on a side. Or telling your clients that drive "thebitch" is more safe, or that refill "thewhore" deposit is cheaper and there is capacity for lots of people and tools. "Puta" is a complicated word in spanish that not always have negative connotations, but is too colloquial, never elegant, and a big minefield for non spanish speakers. In this case it almost worked... but not. Is not even funny. Is a huge and really strange marketing mistake.
  - jarek 11y ago
    The car in question was a kei car not sold outside Japan, so "huge and really strange marketing mistake" might be overstating the actual effect a bit. It's not like it would have had Corolla-like sales with a different name. Lots of words mean strange things in other languages, most of the time it's not really an issue. The name of the German lightbulb brand Osram, sold in Poland under the same name, literally means "I will shit on it" in Polish. Doesn't seem to have impacted sales much. Occasionally kids will have a giggle.