Nigaz…another brand name for the ‘blunder’ box?

A joint venture between Gazprom and NNPC has resulted in a company called Nigaz.

Yes, really. It is actually a business building pipelines and refineries through Nigeria. The name has caused an internet storm over whether the name should stand or be rebranded to something less newsworthy. In tribute, the MediaGuardian has pulled together a list of other branding blunders of products with silly, inappropriate or rude-sounding monikers.

These include:

Mazda’s Bongo Wagon.

The Toyota MR-2 (apparently in France, this sounds like the French word for “shitty” when spoken)

Pepsi in China (the translation of its slogan at the time meant “bring your ancestors back from the dead”).

This story reminded me of a few instances recently where I personally spotted some branding mistranslations and mistakes.

First, Australia’s Coon Cheese. Similar to the Nigaz issue above, I was shocked to see Coon appear on the shelves when I lived in Sydney some years ago. It appears that the tide may be turning against the brand name now but most Aussies I spoke to thought the product was merely named after an Edward Coon and didn’t see any slur there at all.

Second, while on holiday last week in Vietnam, I ate at a lovely ice cream shop called Fanny’s. Funny to any passing tourists; very good ice cream if you’re from Hanoi.

As my third and fourth examples, see these two pictorial examples below of some strange brand names out there from my own camera phone – Celebrity Meat Loaf (spotted in a supermarket in Scotland) and Legendarny Smak (found at my local Tescos).

Any of your own to add? Have a great weekend!