Question

Briefly summarize five examples of poor cultural language and cultural awareness in advertising.

Answer 1

There are many branding mishaps which misappropriated language use, such as:
1. Coca Cola trying to enter the Chinese market, where they inadvertently used Chinese characters that read "Bite the Wax Tadpole", this was later changed to read "Happiness in the Mouth"
2. Schweppes Tonic water used a promotion in Italy which translated to "Schweppes Toilet Water"
3. In Chinese, Kentucky Fried Chicken's famous slogan "Finger lickin' good" translated to "Eat your fingers off".
4. Vicks Cough Drops when it was first placed in the German Market, with its pronunciation of "V", ended up sounding like an inappropriate act.
5. When FIAT tried to launch into the Chinese market, it faced huge criticism after using Richard Gere as the face for their brand, who is a supporter of the Dalai Lama.