Marketing ravages…

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Or when commercial translation adaptation is running wild:

The Uniforme of Progress*  ==> *La tenue de ceux qui osent

Does it remind you of something?

Silence is golden

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Reminder: this is only a recap of the French article. To read the full post, click on the French flag on the right.

We say silence is golden: this blog must be worth millions. Don't worry, I'm willing to share!

So today, I wanted to talk about crappy marketing translations into French. Les Piles Intermédiaires has already written about Gap's ad in Paris, and I noticed pretty much the same thing with Levi's' : the catch-phrase "It's about shape, not size" could have been litteraly translated in French (with all implied interpretations). Instead, it became something explicitly explained such as "New Levi's cuts fit every silhouettes".

Other exemple: the new TV ad for Calvin Klein's perfume Beauty with the Beauty-ful Diane Kruger:

Click on the French flag if you want to read the detailed analysis of the French subtitles. Let's just say that the marketers took a little too much liberty with the interpretation. For those who get French, what do you think about that?