Posted on 05/30/2008 5:41:37 AM PDT by Lucky9teen
Top 10 Most Brilliant Marketing Screw Ups….
1. Coors put its slogan, “Turn it loose,” into Spanish, where it was read as “Suffer from diarrhea.”
2. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.”
3. Clairol introduced the “Mist Stick”, a curling iron, into German only to find out that “mist” is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the “manure stick.”
4. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the U.S., with the beautiful Caucasian baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what’s inside, since most people can’t read.
5. Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.
6. An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope’s visit. Instead of “I saw the Pope” (el Papa), the shirts read “I saw the potato” (la papa).
7. Pepsi’s “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” translated into “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”, in Chinese.
8. Frank Perdue’s chicken slogan, “it takes a strong man to make a tender chicken” was translated into Spanish as “it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate.”
9. The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as “Ke-kou-ke-la”, meaning “Bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse stuffed with wax”, depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent “ko-kou-ko-le”, translating into “happiness in the mouth.”
10. When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, “it won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you”. Instead, the company thought that the word “embarazar” (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.”
"Homly Style Cooking"
was a big laugh in Mexico.
A couple that I remeber from David Frost’s Book of the World Worse Decsicions were:
Chevy marketed their Nova in Mexico, No Va means No Go.
Ford Motor Company was offered a small German automaker at the end of World War II. Ford looked at the small car this automaker made which was called the People’s Car and declined since they figured that ‘Volkwagen’ wasn’t going to go anywhere. They then set to work to create the perfect consumer vehicle called the Edsel.
Did you talk up the ladies in those countries?
I spent a lot of time in Europe. They don’t get quiet when talking to a guy from overseas. They do get quiet later:)
DON’T TAKE ME IF I DON’T WANT TO GO...........
After Mr. and Mrs. Fenton retired, Mrs. Fenton insisted her husband accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart.
Unfortunately, Mr. Fenton was like most men—he found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out.
Equally unfortunately, Mrs. Fenton was like most women—she loved to browse. One day Mrs. Fenton received the following letter from her local Wal-Mart.
Dear Mrs. Fenton,
Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and may be forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Fenton are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.
1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people’s carts when they weren’t looking.
2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women’s restroom.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, ‘Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away.’
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M’s on layaway.
6. September 14: Moved a ‘CAUTION - WET FLOOR’ sign to a carpeted area.
7. September 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he’d invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.
8. September 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, “Why can’t you people just leave me alone?”
9. October 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
10. November 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the anti-depressants were.
11. December 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the “Mission Impossible” theme.
12. December 6: In the auto department, he practiced his “Madonna look” by using different sizes of funnels.
13. December 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled “PICK ME! PICK ME!”
14. December 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed “OH NO! IT’S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!”
And last, but not least
15. December 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, “Hey! There’s no toilet paper in here!”
Regards,
Senior Management
Wal-Mart
L O L true dat.
"Asco" means "disgust." < |:)~
I read about something similar in New Guinea in the 1920s. A visibly distressed native came up to a missionary and said, "You tell us it is a bad thing to eat people, but then you do this!" and held up a jar of Gerber's. When the missionary explained, the guy had a "Yeah, sure." attitude.
ADULT SURVEY
1) Sex in the morning,afternoon or night?
morning...
2) What side of the bed do you sleep on?
left
3) Pork, beef, or chicken?
beef
4) Have you ever had to pull over on the side of the road to puke?
yes
5) Have you ever taken your clothes off for money?
no
6) Shower or bath?
Bath - long and hot
7) Do you pee in the shower?
....
8) Do you want someone aggressive or passive in bed?
Aggressive
9) Love or money?
love
10) Credit cards or cash?
Cash - never again will I own a credit card
11) Have you ever had anyone in your family you wish wasn’t?
Definitely.
12) Would you rather go camping or to a 5 star hotel?
camping
13) What is the weirdest place you have had sex?
in a park
14) Would you shave your entire body (including your head) for money?
no
15) Have you ever been to a strip club?
no
16) Ever been to a bar?
yes
17) Ever been kicked out of a bar or a club?
no
18) Ever been so drunk you had to be carried out of somewhere?
no
19) Kissed someone of the same sex?
no
20) Have you ever had sex at work?
yes
21) Have you ever been in an “adult” store?
yes
22) Have u ever bought anything thing from an adult store?
yes
23) Ever been caught having sex?
yes
24) Does anyone have naughty pics of YOU?
no
25) Have you ever had sex with someone and called them the wrong name?
No
When I joined the Navy, the recruiting slogan was:
“Join the Navy and see the world”
Little did I realize that three-fourths of the earth is covered with water, and when you’ve see one sea you’ve seen them all.
A2. Lots of sheep.
While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old
Texas rancher, whose hand was caught in a gate
while working cattle, the doctor struck up a
conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic
got around to Obama and his bid to be our President.
The old rancher said, “Well, ya know, Obama is a
‘post turtle’.” Not being familiar with the term, the
doctor asked him what a ‘post turtle’ was. The old
rancher said, “When you're driving down a country
road and you come across a fence post with a
turtle balanced on top, that's a ‘post turtle’.”
The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's
face, so he continued to explain. “You know he
didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up
there, he doesn't know what to do while he is up
there, and you just wonder what kind of a dumb ass
put him up there!.”’
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.