International Marketing

Cross Culture Marketing Mistakes

Prepared to
Dr. Amr Kheir El-din
Prepared by
Mohammed Khairy Derballa

Bad Advertising mistakes

In 2002,Umbrothe UK sports
manufacturer had to withdraw its
new trainers (sneakers) called the
Zyklon. The firm received complaints
from many organisations and
individuals as it was the name of the
gas used by the Nazi regime to
murder millions of Jews in
concentration camps.

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

Sharwoods, a UK food
manufacturer, spent 6 million on a
campaign to launch its new 'Bundh'
sauces. It received calls from
numerous Punjabi speakers telling
them that "bundh" sounded just like
the Punjabi word for "arse (Behaving
in stupid way).

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

A nice cross cultural example of the

fact that all pictures or symbols are
not interpreted the same across the
world: staff at the African port
ofStevadoressaw the
"internationally recognised" symbol
for "fragile" (i.e. broken wine glass)
and presumed it was a box of broken
glass. Rather than waste space they
threw all the boxes into the sea!

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

A company advertised eyeglasses in

Thailand by featuring a variety of
cute animals wearing glasses. The ad
was a poor choice since animals are
considered to be a form of low life
and no self respecting Thai would
wear anything worn by animals.

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

When President George Bush went to Japan

with Lee Iacocca and other American business
magnates, and directly made explicit and
direct demands on Japanese leaders, they
violated Japanese etiquette. To the Japanese
(who use high context language) it is
considered rude and a sign of ignorance or
desperation to lower oneself to make direct
demands. Some analysts believe it severely
damaged the negotiations and confirmed to
the Japanese that Americans are barbarians.

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

A soft drink was introduced into Arab

countries with an attractive label that
had stars on it--six-pointed stars. The
Arabs interpreted this as pro-Israeli
and refused to buy it. Another label
was printed in ten languages, one of
which was Hebrew--again the Arabs
did not buy it.

Bad Advertising mistakes

"Traficante"and Italian mineral
water found a great reception in
Spain's underworld. In Spanish it
translates as "drug dealer".

Cont.

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

Pepsodent tried to sell its toothpaste

in Southeast Asia by emphasizing
that it "whitens your teeth." They
found out that the local natives chew
betel nuts to blacken their teeth
which they find attractive.

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

Kellogg had to rename its Bran Buds

cereal in Sweden when it discovered
that the name roughly translated to
"burned farmer."

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

When Pepsico advertised Pepsi in

Taiwan with the ad "Come Alive With
Pepsi" they had no idea that it would
be translated into Chinese as "Pepsi
brings your ancestors back from the
dead."

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

When Pepsico advertised Pepsi in

Taiwan with the ad "Come Alive With
Pepsi" they had no idea that it would
be translated into Chinese as "Pepsi
brings your ancestors back from the
dead."

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes

Tonic Water translated the name into
"Schweppes Toilet Water."

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

At a Budapest zoo: Please do not

feed the animals. If you have any
suitable food, give it to the guard on
duty.

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

When Gerber, a Nestle owned

purveyor of baby foods first started
selling their baby food in Africa, they
used the same packaging as in the
USA with the cute baby on the
label. Later they found out that in
Africa companies routinely put
pictures on the label of what is inside
the package, since most people
cannot read.

Bad Advertising mistakes

Cont.

FIAT released an ad in Italy in which

actor Richard Gere drives a Lancia
Delta from Hollywood to Tibet. Gere is
hated in China for being an outspoken
supporter of the Dalai Lama there
was a huge on-line uproar on Chinese
message boards commenting that
they would never buy a FIAT car.

Thanks