( SNUG 99 Item 22 ) ----------------------------------------------- [3/31/99]
COKE BRINGS THE DEAD BACK TO LIFE: There are some fairly famous gaffes in
international marketing. The Chevy Nova in South America is one. "Nova"
is very close to "No va" which in Spanish translates to "it doesn't go".
On the week preceding HDL Con (OVI/VIUF), Avant!, with its predominately
Chinese management, mailed *broken* mousetraps to a good part of the EE
Times readership. What this means in Chinese, I have *no* clue, but in
American culture there's the famous saying of "Build a better mousetrap
and the world will beat a path to your door." What is Avant! trying to
say? "Don't bother coming our way because all our ideas are broken?"
Huh? And to make matters worst, Avant! then mass-mailed pieces of cheese
out on the following week! Huh? Is it poisoned because their mousetrap
technology is so broken? Huh??? I are engineer and I are confused.
"Coke Brings The Dead Back To Life!"
- the "Coke Adds Life!" slogan when its was literally translated
on the Coca Cola ads in the Chinese speaking markets.
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