This little gem arrived in my Hotmail this morning, and I just could not resist the urge to share it, with polyglots and gutter-dwellers alike. It is one of the funniest of its kind that I have seen in quite some time:
"It takes a virile man to make a chicken pregnant."

- Perdue chicken ad, as mistranslated abroad

the rest of the 'story'

Chicken-man Frank Perdue's slogan, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken," got terribly mangled in
another Spanish translation. A photo of Perdue with one of his birds appeared on billboards all over Mexico with a
caption that explained "It takes a hard man to make a chicken aroused." Elsewhere, the slogan was translated into, "It takes a virile man to make a chicken pregnant."

Thanks, tsuwm - I got the snippet in a "Stupid Quotes" mailing, devoid of any context. I was left wondering how the phrase had been created. The story you relate reminds me that I haven't been to a "translation" site for fun in far too long. Cheers

It's a funny one, but I can't think of any Spanish words for tender that come anywhere close to any of the words for aroused, much less pregnant. May be a bit of web apocrypha.

A funny (and old) one I do believe to be true, the Chevy Nova marketed in Mexico, where "no va" means "it doesn't go."

Thanks MaxQ and tsuwm. Too funny.

We also have had problems with non-translations. Pert shampoo was initially marketed under the same name here. Well it didn’t sell very well since "pert" in French means lose. Not a name any gentleman wants associated with his hair.

From _Business Mexico_, June, 1993

[...]

The most often cited auto blunder is the Chevrolet Nova (the phrase "No va" translates in Spanish as "It doesn't go") which General Motors wanted to bring into Mexico in the early 1970s. Although GM's Mexican managers were worried about the name, Nova was indeed used.

"They kept the name and it sold very well," says marketing analyst Cecilia Bouleau, who disputes the conventional wisdom surrounding the moniker. "It's the same thing with Nova gasoline. I think that the word is sufficiently incorporated into the language as meaning 'new' -- as in 'bossa nova' -- that the criticism isn't valid."

Bouleau goes on to say that a strong ad campaign can counter an apparent weakness that a brand name may carry across an international border. "One thing that never ceases to surprise me is how Coca-Cola has never had a problem (in Latin America). 'Coca' has drug connotations and 'Cola' means 'tail' -- yet no-one thinks the worse of it."


-- From http://www.urbanlegends.com, pre-emptively. It is widely but mistakenly believed that the Nova was a failure because of its name.

Thanks for the rest of the story, Señor W.

> "It takes a virile man to make a chicken pregnant."

I knew there must be an explanation for this red comb my wife wears ...

> It's a funny one, but I can't think of any Spanish words for tender that come anywhere close to any of the words for aroused, much less pregnant. May be a bit of web apocrypha.

I think it can be explained. Tender in its first sense can be translated to Spanish as “tierno” as in “Love me tender” or in “tender beef” with no problem at all. But there is a difference in its verbal form so to make tender shouldn’t be translated as “poner tierno” but as “enternecer” because “poner tierno” can be used locally as to arouse or even as to get drunk.

I remember when I was a kid, some eons ago, there used to be “Avery” brand coin-operated scales in most shopping centers. Well, I never dared inserting a coin in any of those scales because “averia” is the Spanish word for failure and I supposed that this “Avery” sign was an “Out of order” sign.


Juan Maria.

Pert shampoo was initially marketed under the same name here. Well it
didn’t sell very well since "pert" in French means lose.

So how come Americans try to get rid of merchandise by declaring, "sale," when, if memory serves rightly, that means "dirty" in French? Truth in advertising, perhaps?

We also have had problems with non-translations. Pert shampoo was initially marketed under the same name here. Well it
didn’t sell very well since "pert" in French means lose. Not a name any gentleman wants associated with his hair.

How about the truly moronic name for a depilitory being marketed in the US called, "Nads?" Aren't these idiots aware that that's slang for "gonads?"

- Perdue chicken ad, as mistranslated abroad

Hmmm.... I'm not a francophone, but I seem to remember that "perdue" is the feminine version of the French word for lost. Lost chicken? As in wanton? Well, then, this whole thing is beginning to make sense!

Hey, Geoff, it took me a minute to realize the words about
Pert weren't yours. You might want to try using quotes, those little arrow things, colored "ink", or simply start with 'belMarduk said...'---so us slow ones can catch on.

Yes, I crack up every time I see a billboard for "Nads"!
Reckon those Aussies got some, but. A guy I worked with on my first job named his softball team The Nads, so the people cheering them on could chant, "Go, Nads, Go, Nads".

Cheering Section
Then there is the apocryphal story about the cheerleaders at Norfolk High School in Norfolk, Virginia (pronounced locally "Gnaw-fk") whose cheer was;
"We don't smoke,
We don't drink.
Norfolk! Norfolk!"

(Sorry, Jackie -- it's more in your line.)

Had to read it three times before I got it, and then aloud the third time. Gawd, I must be tired!

Question: Were any of them actually the case?

In response to "Pert shampoo was initially marketed under the same name here. Well it
didn’t sell very well since "pert" in French means lose." - there are more soaps and shampoos with the same problem, I think: Holland markets a shampoo called "Glans shampoo" ("glans" means "shine" in Dutch). And in Belgium there is a washing powder called Fanny Power...

Welcome, O playing one!
Fanny Power powder? Oh my. I'm not gonna say another word.

The Japanese have a sports drink called Pocari Sweat (actually pretty good, I think!) and I'm sure there used to be a lemonade -type drink in France called Pschitt.

...and, the German bath design boutique named "Bad Design." In German bath translates to "bad," and design? Well, the Germans love to borrow cool words, especially from English these days.

Aside - Anyone else out there who grew up in a bilingual home enjoying wonderful bilingual jokes?

Aside - Anyone else out there who grew up in a bilingual home enjoying wonderful bilingual jokes?

No, but you do know about the French kittens who went skating on thin ice, don't you?

Un deux trois quatre cinque.

Exactly. The best are still the literal translations, though, and my dear mother's mangling of "south" and "something" when she's in a hurry...