AMERICANS have heard about our high street favourite Poundland – and their double meaning of pound has got them tittering and Twittering.
Many have tweeted snaps of the storefront for a laugh, one saying: “The name implies to us that some serious adult action is going down, and we all want a passport to this land.”
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It’s not just a problem for the store – here are other brands that have caused guffaws on distant shores.
MAZDA LAPUTA
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The Japanese car firm introduced the model in 1999, declaring it was “designed to deliver maximum utility in a minimum space while providing a smooth, comfortable ride” with its “lightweight, impact-absorbing body”.
Despite the impressive blurb, the motor faced a struggle to find sales success in Spain – where La puta means prostitute.
WANG CARES
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In the 1970s American computer firm Wang came up with this slogan to use in an international advertising campaign.
The UK arm of the company then had to explain its reluctance to run it here, pointing out that here the phrase sounds like something entirely different that would not look good for the firm.
In Britain the ad campaign was, er, tossed out.
SQUIRTY CREAM
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While we Brits know it as that light, fluffy stuff in a can, in the US it means something X-rated.
When an American found out what we called it, he said on Twitter: “We call it whipped cream here in America because most of us have our minds in the gutter, and the label Squirty Cream wouldn’t work out well.”
COCK SOUP
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You can buy Grace Cock Soup at your local supermarket but it doesn’t stop it causing a snigger whenever anybody points it out on social media.
In fact the product comes from Jamaica and has no cock or chicken in it whatsoever – it’s more of a spicy and hearty noodle and carrot combo.
PLOPP
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One of Sweden’s favourite chocolate bars, it has a soft, gooey caramel centre. As to why it’s called Plopp, it’s probably best to close the lid on that matter.
SIRI
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In 2011 Apple launched its virtual assistant app – and it was a milestone in computer comprehension of speech commands. However, in Japanese, Siri sounds quite a lot like the word for buttocks.
Which was arguably less embarrassing for Apple than the reaction in the Republic of Georgia, where Siri is an offensive term meaning male genitalia.
SUPER DICKMANN’S
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These German treats are made from marshmallows dipped in chocolate on a wafer base.
They might be delicious but they’re bound to prompt a snigger from English-speaking tourists.
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COCA-COLA
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When Coke launched in China in the 1920s its phonetic name was Kekoukela, which means “Bite the wax tadpole” or “Female horse stuffed with wax”, depending on the dialect.
The firm eventually changed it to Kokou kole, which translates as “Happiness in the mouth”.
KFC
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While most businesses try to make a good impression when expanding into a foreign country, the fried chicken chain got off on the wrong foot when it opened in Beijing in the late 1980s.
The branch in the Chinese capital had translated its famous slogan “Finger-lickin’ good” to a not-so-appetising “Eat your fingers off”.
FART BAR
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The Polish chocolate treat’s name simply translates as “lucky bar”. And to any English speaker, that has a whiff of irony.
