I just read an article about two determined passengers at the Cologne/Bonn Airport in Germany who’d missed the boarding of their flight to Romania. Not to be dissuaded by their plane now readying for takeoff on the runway, they breached an emergency exit door by breaking the glass covering of an emergency switch. They then proceeded to run across the tarmac to the almost-taxiing Airbus 321. Needless to say, airport security stopped them.
Beyond wondering how two rational adults could think such a boneheaded move would actually gain them access to a flight, I noticed that their airline of choice in this weird scenario was Wizz Air. Wizz Air? Such an oddly named airline seems straight out of an SNL skit. This company name loses some credibility in the US- though apparently the American slang “taking a wizz” does not mean the same as in Hungary, where this airline is founded. And despite its moniker, the low-cost Wizz Air has actually been successful since its founding in 2004.
Product Management, R&D, and Marketing Personnel- Beware!
But product success like this has not always been the case for other products with marketing campaigns that lose something in translation or implementation. All those folk working in Product Management, Research and Development, and Marketing need to pay close attention to just a few examples where the road to marketing success was littered with preventable failures. Here’s just a few.
Take this famous example of a 1960’s campaign for Pepsi in China- “Come alive! You’re in the Pepsi generation!” Its translation actually meant “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”– not quite the lively youthful connotation the marketing people were intending, plus an unintended clash with cultural views on ancestors. At least Coca-Cola executives enjoyed the gaffe during the years the campaign ran and Pepsi sales in China struggled- until the problem was recognized.
“¿Que Pasa?”
Even the famous American dairy association tag line “Got Milk?” has had its problems. The initial Latino market was not fond of the line at all, since the Spanish translates into the nosy question “Are You Lactating?” And Molson Coors Beverage Company’s in-country marketing team for Coors beer in Spain dropped the ball when they okayed the slogan “Turn it loose.” The translation of that slogan was literally telling Coors drinkers that they would “Suffer from diarrhea.” This is where good translation companies (e.g. TransPerfect, Lionbridge, or RWS) offering specialized localization for global brand campaigns are worth their price-tag.
Sometimes it’s not mistranslation, but misunderstanding of their customers that sinks a product. The Beatles’ 1966 album “The Beatles Yesterday and Today” was Capitol Records’ worst selling Beatles album of the group’s whole career. The hugely popular group’s brand image at the time did not square with fans expecting something non-controversial and more family friendly. The twisted album cover photo (known as the “Butcher” album cover)- had the Fab Four wearing white lab coats, and holding dismembered baby dolls and bloody cuts of meat. This marketing miss with a target audience happened due to lack of test marketing, plus Capitol’s big misjudgment of general public reactions and that of the parents, who were often the purchasers of Beatles music for their children. Surrealism and anti-war satire were not the UX anticipated by such customers. Capitol was forced to recall 750,000 copies of the album from distributors, or do paste overs with another photo to recoup cost. (By the way, if there’s anyone today who does have one of the rare original album covers- they could make $30,000 or more now).
The Bot Made Me Buy It
There’s more recent marketing backlashes stemming from the steady move of companies to use AI to hawk products and services. Major brands like Balmain, Prada, Pacsun and Calvin Klein are partnering with their own customized digital virtual influencers. Such digital characters offer marketers PROS like cost-effectiveness, 24/7 availability, flexibility to be placed in any scenario, full company control of the “brand” to avoid messy human scandals, and the appeal of virtual influencer technology to younger audiences.
But the CONS abound as well. CGI (computer generated imagery) requires a substantial investment, it is resource-intensive, and it raises in audiences big questions about authenticity and transparency. Human influencers produce real connections with followers, creating impactful marketing campaigns built on trust and loyalty. Human influencers also speak to diverse communities, and can be master storytellers that weave persuasive brand messages into their personal narratives. Digital influencers appeal to novelty, not authenticity- and not all marketing strategies want that association for their brand. Shoppers don’t tend to like fake.
In the end, whether it is bad translations or unreal AI influencers, companies will do best when they listen to their potential markets, and build their best marketing messages and campaigns with authenticity and cultural relevance. Without that, many brands might be “taking a wizz” in more places than Germany.
