Meanings of Transcreation

The pseudonyms that transcreation goes by are telling: creative translation,

international copy adaptation and free-style translation all make the picture clearer.
The purpose of transcreation is to carry the intent, style, and tone of a message across
cultural barriers, with particular attention paid to maintaining the emotional reaction it
creates. Because of this, it goes beyond just appropriately translating linguistic
messages - visual ones must often be 'translated' too.
A lot of basic translation theory is couched in terms of the opposition between
metaphrasis (word-for-word or literal translations) and paraphrasis (recasting the same
idea in a different form). People are often trained not to translate too freely. But in some
cases that freedom is your only chance of making the content resonate in translation.
It is really a question of the details contained in the mission brief. There are projects
where a poker-faced translation that transmits details in a teutonically efficient way is
the only safe way to go. And other cases where the spark and atmosphere of the text
must be maintained at all costs. What is sure is that with transcreation, fidelity to the text
is always secondary to the elicitation of the same responses.
The reality is that the majority of translation jobs are quite prosaic in their content.
Demand dictates the jobs that translators undertake, so rather than doing leisurely
translations of James Joyce into obscure dialects, translators are more likely to spend
their time wrestling with hydraulics manuals and kitchen appliance brochures.
The jobs that typically require transcreation are those which are designed to leave an
emotional mark or spur people to action. Examples of these are web campaigns in new
countries, ads that are designed around humour and wordplay, and products that are
meant to appeal to different demographics within a single market.
The key to a transcreation job is the mission brief. There must be a clear vision of what
identity and what message should be transmitted. It is far better to begin with a specific
brand promise, and then work towards an evocative strapline, than to translate the
original strapline and hope that it corresponds to your brands identity.

3) Neglecting Transcreation

The value of transcreation to your business becomes obvious when you glance at the
Hall of Shame of companies who decided not to concern themselves with the cultural
sensibilities of their target market. Puma experienced the pitfalls of poor awareness
when in 2011, they launched a shoe to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the
United Arab Emirates.

The product provoked a furious response. Putting the countrys flag on the shoe was
perceived as trivialising and disrespectful shoes touch both the feet and the ground,
and so are considered very dirty in that culture. If you want to build brand loyalty, its
advisable not to disgrace the symbol of their nation.
Transcreation clearly goes beyond language. Even the most carefully worded campaign
can fall flat when the imagery isnt vetted for its cultural sensibility. For example, in the
1970s, Pampers Nappies had a successful campaign which used the image of the
stork. In western cultures, there is a strong association because of the legend where the
stork delivers babies to expectant parents. However, when launching in Japan, the firm
tried to use the same recipe, and were met with a mystified Japanese public rather than
commercial success. The market research of some good transcreators could have
saved them: there is an analogous Japanese legend in which babies are delivered to
parents on giant peaches that are ferried down rivers and streams. This tiny tweak in
imagery would have cost little and resonated greatly with consumers appreciative of
Pampers cultural effort. They would have reaped the benefits without the
embarrassment of rebranding.
READ MORE: 5 Apps & Websites That Win at Localization

4) Abject Failures of Transcreation

Is blind negligence worse than making a concerted effort and still messing up?
Nowadays, youd be hard pressed to find a firm that wasnt savvy to the value of
carefully crafted variations in international ad campaigns. Yet clownishly awful mistakes
still occur. From the smartphone-stoneage of 2005, we introduce the Motorola Q.

Motorola knew the importance of a good strapline, so when it was released in French
Canada, they tried to invest wisely. The results were the catchy rhyme Cest
important pour vous, cest important pour votre Q. (Its important for you, its
important for your Q) and the bold proclamation Mon Q. Lintelligence renouvele.
(My Q. Renewed Intelligence.)
This was all fine and dandy until an actual French speaker heard them. It transpired that
the pronunciation of the letter Q in French was rather too much like a rude word
meaning bottom. Substitute that (or any synonym you like) into the slogans above, and
you can imagine what happened.
By the same token, advertisers can sometimes be too keen to chop and change when
leaving something as it was would be best. The German car manufacturer Volkswagen

is hardly the flavour of the month after their emissions rigging scandal, but this story
shows they are no strangers to PR disasters.
VW uses its Das Auto strapline in many countries, keeping the foreign language
element which successfully plays on Germanys reputation for quality manufacturing.
But in fact the VW Beetle was for many decades made in Brazil. The Brazilians were
quite fond of its status in their country, to the point that it was considered an honorary
Brazilian. It had a long-standing Portuguese slogan that reflected this: Voc conhece,
Voc confia (You know (it), you trust (it))

Volkswagen shifted their strategy by trying to replicate the foreign-language success

theyd had in other markets with Das Auto. But by emphasising the cars foreign design
in Brazil, it came off as pretentious and damaged to the bond of recognition and
acceptance that the firm had enjoyed for so long.

As ever, the only option was an awkward retraction of the slogan. Curiously, the
German line continues to be well received elsewhere, like in a new Russian campaign

which shows just how much good transcreation depends on thorough market research,
and repeated trial, failure, and testing.

5) Triumphs of Transcreation
Copy that is foreign in origin neednt seem foreign to the audience that reads it. One of
the most recognisable jingles linked to any product is Haribos Kids and grownups
love it so, the happy world of haribo. It grates, but it also resonates. It tells you
how wide their appeal is. It rhymes. It sticks in your head mercilessly. Its a good slogan.
But this is not, in fact, an originally English phrase. Its just a spectacular translation of
the original German jingle.

To take the phrase and to translate the tone of the message along with the rhyme,
metre, and cadence, is a rare skill. It is the translation jackpot.
Yet with transcreation, fidelity is not the priority. Accordingly, the best case scenario is
not just perfect preservation it is to actually improve upon the original. A transcreation
brief provides the freedom to do this.
One example of transcreation improving a marketing slogan is Proctor & Gambles 1999
campaign in Italy for their Swiffer dusting products. The original English phrase was
When Swiffers the one, consider it done. A direct Italian translation would have
ruined the flow, and so they came up with La polvere non dura, perch Swiffer la
cattura. (The dust doesnt linger, because Swiffer catches it.) This solution not only
creates a different rhyme and metre, but it mentions the benefit eliminating dust and

the way it does this by catching it whereas the English original mentions neither of
these two elements. This is widely regarded as one of the best ever examples of
creative slogan translation.
But there is no better place to end a discussion of creative translation than with the
English translations of the Asterix comics. Many might quibble and say that this is
translation pure and simple. When Anthea Bell was translating all the puns and
nuances within those strips, she certainly wasnt thinking I am transcreating. The
difference is academic, but few other examples quite capture the joyous spirit of
creative translations that improve upon the originals.
The names of all the characters are puns, many of which cant be translated but they
can be recreated. The English versions that Bell created were often cleverer than the
French names. For instance, the tone-deaf village bard was
originally Assurancetourix - a play on assurance tous risques full cover
insurance. In the English, he became Cacofonix, a wordplay on cacophony. The
insalubrious fishmonger was Ordralfabtix, playing on ordre alphabtique. He
became Unhygienix. The French are originals are funny because they are absurd. The
English names actually reflect character traits of the characters, and make the cast that
much more vivid.
Other name translations hit the nail on the head in most perfect way imaginable. The
cantankerous pet dog of the lead character Obelix was called Idfix, a play on the
French phrase une ide fixe meaning a stubborn obsession. He became Dogmatix
which is a delightful translation, since Idfix is indeed a dog, and he is also dogmatic.
Sometimes the translations hint at new nuances in the story that might have been
absent in the original a liberty that a less accomplished translator might not have been
afforded. The village druid who distributes the mysterious magic potion that allows a few
Gaulish villagers to keep the mighty Roman Empire at bay is called Panoramix in
French. This is just a light play on the word Panorama. Bells masterstroke was to call
him Getafix, thereby suggesting the bearded old man who allowed the Gauls to get their
fix was up to something a bit more cheeky with his potion.

When given artistic license, the linguists you hire can be capable of amazing feats. This
creative intelligence can transform the marketing fortunes of your firm in foreign lands.
Think globally and act locally; transcreation services can spread your brand's identity
in the exact way that you want.