Friday, June 4, 2010

Surely Someone Must Have Known ...


Really, sometimes it is just too easy. Comrade X here takes a cheap shot, he knows, as this example of capitalist product advertising failure is, prima facie, idiotic. I mean, it's not even SUBTLE! You don't even have to LOOK for the stupidity here. Which of course makes Comrade X wonder: when a foreign product is marketed in this, a primarily English-speaking, country, do they get native English speakers to come in and make sure there's nothing weird or offensive or grammatically bizarre about the product name translation? If they don't, well, then they should, though the mistake is honest (so to speak -- capitalism must NEVER be forgiven for ANYTHING, remember!), but if they do, then what kind of moron looks at this and says, "Yep, that there's just fine." Perhaps good help really IS hard to find. Comrade X imagines the scenario (assuming the person they got to check the translation is not a flaming racist/nationalist and desirous of making any and all people of other races or nationalities look completely insane):

Executive A of Grace Corporation: "So, we would like you to look at this packaging and tell us if there is anything we should be concerned about."
Translator: "Sure thing, no problemo, chief."
Executive A: "Please do not call me 'chief.' It is most inappropriate."
Translator: "You're the boss, sport."
(Exasperated looks all around the boardroom table.)
Executive B (Attempting to gloss over the preceding embarrassing incident): "So, do you see anything that you wish to call to our attention?"
Translator: "Hmm, now, let me see. Whattaya got here? Okay, there's a, like, chicken on it, that seems okay, but it might get you some flak from the animal rights people."
Executive C (Worried): "Excuse me, my English is perhaps not so good: who are these 'animal rights people'?"
Translator: "Oh, you know, in my country, we got these people runnin' around yellin' about animal this and animal that and demanding that nobody do nothin' with no animals. They, like, hate that whales get shot an' shit."
Executive A: "Perhaps I misunderstand you: they worry that whales, how do you say it?, shit when they are shot?"
Translator: "What?"
Executive A (Looking at an electronic dictionary): "As I understand you, you are saying that whales defecate upon being wounded or killed, and these 'animal rights people' are for some reason upset by this what would appear to be unstoppable biological reaction?"
Translator (Laughing): "What? Naw, chief, they worry that whales get, like, SHOT and shit. You know, like eaten and whatnot by whoever the fuck would eat that shit."
Executive B: "Whales?"
Translator: "What? No, the whales don't worry. What the fuck?"
Executive B: "No, the people, the people who eat the whales: they worry?"
Translator: "What? You're not SUPPOSED to EAT the fuckin' whales, dude! That's like, illegal or something."
Executive C (Nervous): "Perhaps we should go on to the rest of the packaging contents?"
Translator: "What? Yeah, sure. The chicken, that's prolly no big deal anyway. EVERYONE hates chickens. So lessee: you got your company name, that's fine. Might want it bigger, though."
Executive A: "Bigger?"
Translator: "Sure, champ, company names should be BIG, you know, catch the attention, like! All the company names in America are fuckin' HUGE-ASS!"
Executive A (Checking electronic dictionary): "Huge ... "
Translator: "But like I said, it's prolly cool. I like that little crown you got on it, too. Should be bigger, though."
Executive B: "What about the product name."
Translator: "The name?"
Executive C: "Yes, please, the name!"
Translator: "Well, lessee: you got a soup mix here, yeah?"
Executive A: "Yes."
Translator: "Well, what do you want your customers to know about it?"
Executive C: "Oh, they should know the flavor. Nothing else really maters, does it?"
(Executives A and B shake their heads in agreement.)
Translator: "Okay, so you just want 'em to know the flavor. A'ight. So, what's this soup taste like?"
Executive C: "What does it taste like?"
Translator: "Yeah, like, what's the flavor?"
Executive A: "Cock."
Translator: "Cock."
Executives B and C: "Yes, yes, cock."
Translator: "So what yer tellin' me is that this stuff makes a soup that tastes like cock."
Executive A: "That is right."
Translator: "And you WANT it to taste like cock?"
Executive B: "Of course we do!"
Translator: "So what yer sayin' is when you mix this shit with water or whatever, you get a soup that tastes like cock and you want it to taste like cock and when people eat it they're gonna think they're eating cock?"
Executive A: "Exactly!"
Translator: "Huh. Well, then boss, I'd say your packaging is pretty much doin' its thing! Right on, gold star. Now, what else you got for me to look at?"
Executive A: "Well, we have this product. We call it 'Disease-ridden vagina-taste bubble gum' ..."

3 comments:

  1. hmmmm....i may be being a tad nit-picky here, but aren't we interpreting this through our cultural filters? Cock originally ment an adult male chicken--and has only relatively recently come to refer to a mans penis...maybe the soup sellers should have taken this into account and called it Rooster Flavored Soup...but still. Sometimes a cock is just a cock.

    Le F

    ReplyDelete
  2. Okay then.
    Go ahead and drink Cock soup. Be our guest.
    --Y

    ReplyDelete
  3. Commrade Y,

    Soup really isn'n my cup of tea. ;)

    Le F

    ReplyDelete