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Pastimes : Don't Ask Rambi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Drygulch Dan who wrote (8261)	2/27/1998 5:04:00 PM
From: Don Pueblo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 71178

Cracking an international market is a goal of most growing corporations. It shouldn't be that hard,yet even the big multi-nationals run into trouble because of language and cultural differences. For example... The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase means "bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax" depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, "ko-kou-ko-le," which can beloosely translated as "happiness in the mouth." In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" came out as"Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead." Also in Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan "finger-lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off." The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, "Salem - Feeling Free," got translated in the Japanesemarket into "When smoking Salem, you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty." When General Motors introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, it was apparently unaware that "no va" means "it won't go." After the company figured out why it wasn't selling any cars, it renamed the car in its Spanish markets to the Caribe. Ford had a similar problem in Brazil when the Pinto flopped. The company found out that Pinto was Brazilian slang for "tiny male genitals". Ford pried all the nameplates off and substituted Corcel, which means horse. When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." However, the company mistakenly thought the spanish word "embarazar" meant embarrass. Instead the ads said that "It wont leak in your pocket and make you pregnant." An American t-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of the desired "I Saw the Pope" in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed "I Saw the Potato." Chicken-man Frank Perdue's slogan, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken," got terribly mangled in another Spanish translation. A photo of Perdue with one of his birds appeared on billboards all over Mexico with a caption that explained "It takes a hard man to make a chicken aroused." Hunt-Wesson introduced its Big John products in French Canada as Gros Jos before finding out that the phrase, in slang, means "big breasts." In this case, however, the name problem did not have a noticeable effect on sales. Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno mag. In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water. Japan's second-largest tourist agency was mystified when it entered English-speaking markets and began receiving requests for unusual sex tours. Upon finding out why, the owners of Kinki Nippon Tourist Company changed its name. In an effort to boost orange juice sales in predominantly continental breakfast eating England, acampaign was devised to extoll the drink's eye- opening, pick-me-up qualities. Hence the slogan,"Orange juice. It gets your pecker up."

To: Drygulch Dan who wrote (8261)	3/4/1998 4:49:00 PM
From: Thomas C. White	Respond to of 71178

Hello scum pus face rotting goldhunter Dan mans!! You finally gets come outs the slime cave!! You happys I betting!! You getting readys you bigs day the suns?? You be famous fifteen minutes Ha Ha!! Who says that American guys Andy Warlords huh?? See Juan pretty smart!! Friendly rich whitedust money mans from Medellin here nows he hears all you the abouts, you greats noble chickenfighter we tell hims the funny fibs Heehee!! Some gringo buddy yours kill big Sumo chicken we has, we puts buddy in with big leeches, but no disappoint you new bigger one chickens arriving hasty posty you bet!! Maybe hour, maybe two!! You nubtooth rotten egg breaths smelly socks Dan man big shows for tonights we has dinner theaters just likely in States!! Only you maybe gonna be dinner you no kills big chickens with pointysticks!! Ha Ha, maybe you be first guy ever wins against chickens!! Then we makes statue you ugly faces in village square!! Here, my mens helps dress yous in chickenfight getups, we gots fancy big moneys threads funny hats you wears just likes the matador!! Only we calls him you cluckeador!! So instead "Toro Toro!!" you says "Bawk Bawk!!" And here nicely red silky capes you waves at chickens. Hey you be cluckeador we has oldtimey tradition you gets last meals you picks whatever you likes. Here menu, we gots fried plantains poachy plantains boiled plantains any kinds plantains you likes. Or we also gots special the night, leeches!! In special sauce I no tells you what is you loses lunch. Bon Appetits!!