Marketing

Miscommunication

The importance of understanding

international cultures
 Coca-Cola had to withdraw its two-
liter bottle from Spain few
Spanish refrigerators can hold a
bottle that large
General Foods squandered millions
trying to sell the Japanese cake
mixes. Oops only 3% of
Japanese kitchens have ovens
 Hallmark cards wouldnt sell in
France sending a card with a
printed message instead of a
handwritten one is a grave breach
of etiquette in France
 General Foods Tang wouldnt sell
in France General Foods marketed
it as a substitute for orange juice;
the French drink little orange juice
and almost none at breakfast
 Esso gasoline wont sell in Japan
Esso in Japanese phonetically
means stalled car.
 A Chinese textile company tried to
sell Pansy brand mens
underwear in the United States;
the attempt failed
 Attempts to market the Mist
Schtick hair dryer in Germany
failed Mist in German means
manure in English
 Pet evaporated milk didnt sell in
France; pet in the French
language is a vulgarism
corresponding to fart in English
 S. C. Johnsons wax floor polish
failed in Japan; the marketing
executives forgot, or never knew,
that Japanese dont wear shoes in
the house
 GMs tag line body by Fisher
became corpse by Fisher in the
Flemish language
 Pepsodents toothpaste slogan
Youll wonder where the yellow
went didnt work in Southeast
Asia; there, brown teeth are a
status symbol proclaiming Im
rich enough and sophisticated
enough to enjoy chewing betel
nuts.
 Coors beer slogan, Get loose with
Coors became Get diarrhea with
Coors in Spanish when the
company rushed over-hastily into
the Hispanic marketplace
 The Perdue slogan It Takes a
Tough Man to Make a Tender
Chicken became It Takes a
Sexually Excited Man to Make a
Chick Affectionate. Oops.
 Advertisers for the Chevy Nova
wondered why the cars didnt sell
well in Mexico and Latin America.
To their embarrassment, they
realized that No va in Spanish
means does not go.