Real adverts that gave the wrong messages

[Cleopatra]

When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "it won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you". Instead, the company thought that the word "embarazar" (to make pregnant) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant".

 

When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the cuddly Caucasian baby on the label. Later they learned that, in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label to show what is inside the can, since most people can't read.

 

Coors translated its slogan, "Turn it loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer from diarrhea".

 

Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick", a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many Germans had a use for the "manure stick".

 

Pepsi's "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave" in Chinese.

 

Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "it takes a strong man to make a tender chicken" was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate."

[Nick Tessla]

One of the national firms of opticians , possibly Vision Express, had a slogan about making sure your next sight was as clear as your first - considering that babies are born with poor focusing ability, and can only focus on things right in front of them, it was hardly a good recommendation of their service.

[RingoDave]

Some pearlers there, Cleo!