portfolio & design blog of logo & identity designer, Graham Smith
Showing that success of a hopeful new brand, is not a given, regardless of how talented a designer or agency dude you are. Brand failures generally exceed brand success. Still happy to be called a brand designer? Still think you have God like status to declare to clients and your peers that you always create successful brand identities?
Some of the funniest, even if some are proven to be urban myth, cultural branding failures mentioned in the excellent book ‘Brand Failures‘ by Matt Haig. For the humorous commentary on these examples, I recommend you check the book out.
Pepsi
The general tag line ‘Come alive with the Pepsi Generation’ translates to ‘Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead’ in Taiwan.
Schweppes
‘Schweppes Tonic Water’ translates to ‘Schweppes Toilet Water’ in Italy.
Ford
The Ford ‘Pinto’ translates to ‘Small Penis’ in Brazil.
General Motors
The ‘Chevy Nova’ translates to ‘It doesn’t go‘ in Spain.
Rolls Royce
The Rolls Royce ‘Silver Mist’ translates to ‘Silver Animal Droppings‘ in Puerto Rico.
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi ‘Pajero‘ is slang for ‘Masturbator’ in Spanish.
Coors
The general tag line ‘Turn it Loose’ translates to ‘You will suffer from Diarrhoea’ in Spain.
Frank Perdue’s Chicken
The general tag line ‘It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken‘ translates to ‘It takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate’ in Spain.
Parker Pen
The general tag line ‘It wont leak in your pocket and embarrass you’ translates to ‘It won’t leak in your pocket and impregnate you’ in Mexico.
Clairol
The Clairol ‘Mist Stick’ translates to ‘Manure Stick’ in Germany.
Categories: Logo & Brand Identity
Tagged: Brand, failures, Identity < Previous: I Need a Logo Designed for Free Please, thanks Buddy.
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Laugh out loud great!
Laugh out loud great!
What’s wrong with the tag line from Parker Pens? It’s true isn’t it. I have yet to be impregnated by my Parker Pen. The Bic on the other hand has knocked me up more times than I can count?
What’s wrong with the tag line from Parker Pens? It’s true isn’t it. I have yet to be impregnated by my Parker Pen. The Bic on the other hand has knocked me up more times than I can count?
i laughed out loud when i read this! i was on the floor, rolling around and laughing!
i laughed out loud when i read this! i was on the floor, rolling around and laughing!
Don’t forget about Gerber baby food and their mistake in Africa. When they started selling baby food in Africa they used the same packaging as in the US, i.e. with a picture of a baby on the label. Sales flopped and they soon realised that in Africa companies typically place pictures of contents on their label due to the high rates of illiteracy. I’m not making this one up. I’ll lie about a ton of stuff but never about baby food or Africa.
Don’t forget about Gerber baby food and their mistake in Africa. When they started selling baby food in Africa they used the same packaging as in the US, i.e. with a picture of a baby on the label. Sales flopped and they soon realised that in Africa companies typically place pictures of contents on their label due to the high rates of illiteracy. I’m not making this one up. I’ll lie about a ton of stuff but never about baby food or Africa.
Hate to burst the bubble, but most of these are urban legends. You might benefit from the services of folks at http://www.snopes.com
Hate to burst the bubble, but most of these are urban legends. You might benefit from the services of folks at http://www.snopes.com
Still a giggle tho…
Add to the list of branding mishaps: Tecate beer (Mexican beer)…”tecate” in Puerto Rican street slang means heroin, caused quite a stir when it first arrived in Puerto Rico.
Add to the list of branding mishaps: Tecate beer (Mexican beer)…”tecate” in Puerto Rican street slang means heroin, caused quite a stir when it first arrived in Puerto Rico.
The Mitsubishi Pajero always makes me laugh, i see them frequently here in Dominican Republica streets, everyone who sees them just laughs…
The Mitsubishi Pajero always makes me laugh, i see them frequently here in Dominican Republica streets, everyone who sees them just laughs…
Hilarious. Great post.
Hilarious. Great post.
Still a giggle tho…
haha brilliant!