All Time Best Marketing Bloopers! David Lim, Auckland, New Zealand

Cracking an international market is a goal of most growing corporations. It shouldn't be that hard, yet even the big multi-nationals run into trouble because of language and cultural differences. For example...


The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase means "bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax" depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, "ko-kou-ko-le," which can be loosely translated as "happiness in the mouth."

In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" came out as "Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead."

Also in Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan "finger-lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off."

When General Motors introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, it was apparently unaware that "no va" means "it won't go." After the company figured out why it wasn't selling any cars, it renamed the car in its Spanish markets to the Caribe.

Ford had a similar problem in Brazil when the Pinto flopped. The company found out that Pinto was Brazilian slang for "tiny male genitals". Ford pried all the nameplates off and substituted Corcel, which means horse.

When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." However, the company mistakenly thought the spanish word "embarazar" meant embarrass. Instead the ads said that "It wont leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."

An American t-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of the desired "I Saw the Pope" in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed "I Saw the Potato."

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."

Hunt-Wesson introduced its Big John products in French Canada as Gros Jos before finding out that the phrase, in slang, means "big breasts." In this case, however, the name problem did not have a noticeable effect on sales.

Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno mag.

In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water.

Matsushita Electric is promoting a new Japanese PC targeted at the Internet. Panasonic has developed a complete Japanese Web browser, and to make the system "user-friendly", licensed the cartoon character "Woody Woodpecker" as the "Internet guide." Panasonic eventually planned on a world version of the product.

A huge marketing campaign was to have introduced the product in Japan last week. The day before the ads were to be released, Panasonic suddenly pulled back and delayed the product launch indefinitely.

The reason: the ads featured the slogan "Touch Woody - The Internet Pecker."

An American staff member at the internal product launch explained to the stunned and mbarrassed Japanese what "touch woody" and "pecker" meant in American slang.

Top Ten Mobile Phones in the World (David Lim, Auckland, New Zealand)

The following is the ranking of the Top Rated Mobile Phones by CNET's Editor. I personally use and own two of the Nokia's and Sony Ericsson.

Apple iPhone 3G
Apple's long-awaited upgrade with GPS and 3G

Samsung i8510
Smart phone with 8-megapixel camera

Nokia E71
Feature-packed smart phone with a Qwerty keypad

HTC Touch HD

Publish Post

Attractive smart phone with a large touchscreen

Sony Ericsson C905
8-megapixel camera phone with GPS and Wi-Fi

Sony Ericsson K800i
3G handset with 3.2 megapixel camera

Nokia N95 8GB
Smart phone with built-in sat-nav, MP3 player, Wi-Fi, 5-megapixel camera and 8GB memory

BlackBerry Bold 9000
Feature-packed smartphone with a very sharp screen


Sony Ericsson K750i
Mobile phone with almost 100MB of storage, 2-megapixel camera, radio and MP3 player

Nokia N95
All-in-one handset with built-in sat-nav, MP3 player, Wi-Fi and 5-megapixel camera

Sony Ericsson W760i
Feature-packed slider music phone

The 10 Poorest Countries Of The World (GDI, David Lim, Auckland, New Zealand)

The level of economy in countries around the globe is not even. It is somewhere very high and somewhere very low. GDP, literacy rate and employment rate are several parameters of a country to determine the level of its economy. According to a report of the United Nations, hunger causes the death of about 25,000 people everyday. Unfortunately, the number of children is greater than that of adults. Consider several facts of income disparity between rich and poor nations to measure the cleavage between the haves and the haves not. The combined income of the world’s richest individuals leaves far behind that of the poorest 416 million. 982 million out of 4.8 billion people in the developing world live on $1 a day. Another 2.5 billion live on below $2 a day. 40% of the poorest population made up 5% of world income while 20% of the richest population made up 75% of global income in 2005.

A country with a GDP per capita of $765 dollars or less is defined as a low-income or poor country. You may wonder why poor countries remain poor. Some interrelated factors like geography, industrialization, colonialism, education, resources, infrastructure, overpopulation, investment, government and debt make poor countries remain the heavy foot of poverty.

Look into the fragile features of the ten poorest countries of the world.

10. Ethiopia (GDP - per capita: $700)

“The Sadomo region of the Ethiopia is known for producing the best coffee second to Harar….Make Trade Fair!” - mcandrea

Ethiopia ranks 170 out of 177 the poorest countries on the Human Development Index (UNDP HDI 2006). Half of its GDP depends on agricultural activity. The agricultural sector suffers lowdown because of poor cultivation techniques and frequent drought. 50% of its population 74.7 million bears the burden of poverty and 80% lives on bread line. 47% of males and 31% of females are literate. Some parts of Ethiopia run a high risk of hepatitis A, hepatitis E, typhoid fever, malaria, rabies, meningococcal meningitis and schistosomiasis.

09. Niger (GDP - per capita: $700)

Niger with a population of 12.5 million is one of the ten poorest countries in the world. Drought is a common natural calamity in Niger. It often undergoes a phase of severe food crisis. 63% of its total population lives on below $1 a day. Adult literacy rate is as low as 15%. Life expectancy spans up to 46 years. A number of people die of hepatitis A, diarrhea, malaria, meningococcal meningitis and typhoid fever.

“Escaping from poverty”

08. Central African Republic (GDP - per capita: $700)

“Rebel in northern Central African Republic”

The Central African Republic ranks 171 as a poor country. Agriculture is the backbone of its unstable economy. Life expectancy of its meager population 4.3 ranges from 43.46 to 43.62 years. 13.5% of its population is at risk of AIDS.

“Boy in front of destroyed homes in Ngaoundaye, Central African Republic. Since early 2007, the troubled region has been caught up in fighting between APRD rebels and government troops.” - hdptcar

07. Guinea-Bissau (GDP - per capita: $600)

“Africa, Guinea-Bissau, Bijene, January 2005. Mbemba Djaló, 13 years young, earns some extra cash after school, running his little shop at the veranda of an abandoned colonial house. Photography by Ernst Schade” - ernst schade

The rank of Guinea Bissau as a poor country is 172. Farming and fishing are the only pillars of its economy. The level of income is not even in all parts of the country. About 10% of its adult population is at risk of HIV.

06. Union of the Comoros (GDP - per capita: $600)

Population growth and unemployment at a high rate are responsible for the poor economy of Union of the Comoros. Population density at a rate of 1000 per square km in agriculture zones may result in an environmental crisis. Agricultural contribution to its GDP is 40%. The low level of education has raised the level of labor force. Economy mainly depends on foreign grants.

05. Republic of Somalia (GDP - per capita: $600)

“Sixteen million people in eastern Africa are in need of emergency food aid and the threat of starvation is severe, according to FAO’s latest report on the Food Supply Situation and Crop Prospects in sub-Saharan Africa.” - ☠ ● qυєєη σƒ яσ¢к ● ☠

Agriculture is the base of the economy of Republic of Somalia in the Horn of Africa. Nomads and semi-nomads comprise a major part of the population. Rearing livestock is the primary source of livelihood for them. The small agricultural industry contributes 10% to its GDP.

“Mogadishu. October 2004. View of Mogadishu north. Mogadishu is the place where effects of the conflict are more striking. There are arround 400.000 internally displaced persons. Access to health structures is quite impossible for the danger to circulate in the streets where combats are on-going and all type infrastructures have disapeared: water, sanitation, schools… The absence of state during more than 13 years has made impossible any investment in public structures. It is estimated that around 72% of Somalia’s population lacks access to basic healthcare services and the healthcare system is in ruins.” - abdisalla

04. The Solomon Islands (GDP - per capita: $600)

“Solomon Islands Tsunami — Minister whose church was washed away”

The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia. Fishing holds its domestic economy. Above 75% of the labor class, is involved in fishing. Timber was the main product for export until 1998. Palm oil and copra are important cash crops for export. The Solomon Islands are rich in mineral resources like zinc, lead, gold and nickel.

03. Republic of Zimbabwe (GDP - per capita: $500)

“The expression on these guys faces says a million things, weak from hunger and too poor to own shoes or have a shirt to wear. This is all because of the tyrant they call a president.
A beautiful country ruined because of one mans greed. ” - Mr Sean

Republic of Zimbabwe is located between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers in the south of Africa. Its economy suffers a slowdown due to supply shortage, soaring inflation and foreign exchange shortage. Zimbabwe’s involvement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo left its economy fragile. The worst consequence of the knelt-down economy is unemployment that is as high as 80%.

“March, 5, 2008. The Zimbabwean currency tumbled to a record 25 million dollars for a single US dollar”

02. Republic of Liberia (GDP - per capita: $500)

“MONROVIA, LIBERIA - NOVEMBER 12, 2006 : Young Liberian boy standing on Randal street in Monrovia looks through a hole in a garbage filled car that has been turned on its side and salvaged fro spare parts. ( Photo by: Christopher Herwig )” - herwigphoto.com

Republic of Liberia on the west coast of Africa is one of the ten poorest economies across the globe. A decline in the export of commodities, the flight of many investors from the country, the unjust exploitation of the country’s diamond resource, looting and war profiteering during the civil war in 1990 brought the economy of the country to its knees. External debt of the country is more than its GDP.

“Liberia: Government child soldiers,Ganta; on the back of their truck is an anti-aircraft gun. © Teun Voeten, 2003.
Liberia’s decade-long civil war was fuelled by weapons imported in to the country in violation of a UN arms embargo. Shipments over three months in 2002 from a Serbian security company, for example, brought in enough bullets to kill the entire population of Liberia.” - controlarms

01. Republic of the Congo (GDP - per capita: $300)

“This picture shows what Kinshasa is: full of contradictions. The beauty of the sunlight, nature, happy people contrasts with the filth on the streets, disorganisation, poverty… These two persons seem to stand there, in the middle of all that. Can they push the country forward… Are they part of a generation that will one day live in a modern Democratic Republic of Congo, freed of all suffering and pain?” - fredogaza

Republic of the Congo in Central Africa is the last at the bottom of the economic heaps. Depreciation of Franc Zone currencies, incredibly high levels of inflation in 1994, eruption of the civil war, and continuation of armed conflict and slumping oil price in 1998 broke down the economy of the country.

“A group of ‘kotelengana’, or former child soldiers, in DRC” - War Child UK

GDP - per capita (PPP) 2008 Country Ranks. Source: CIA World Factbook 2008.

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The World's Billionaires 2008 (GDI, David Lim, Auckland, New Zealand)

Source: Forbes

In Pictures: The World's Billionaires In Pictures: Race For Title Of World's Richest Man In Pictures: Youngest Billionaires Featured • The World's Billionaires • Buffett World's Richest • Giving It Away In Pictures • The World's Billionaires • Buffett, Helu, Gates • Notable Newcomers • Youngest Billionaires • Billionaire Bachelors • Celebrity Billionaires • Women We Envy • Credit Crunch Billionaires Profiles • Patrice Motsepe • James Dyson • John Catsimatidis Forbes Life • Billionaire Homes • Flashy Billionaire Cars • Billionaire Playgrounds Full Coverage • The World's Billionaires

The number 13 has long been considered unlucky by superstitious people around the globe. How fitting, then, that Bill Gates' reign as the world's richest person ends after his 13th year at the top.

Despite being worth $58 billion, $2 billion more than last year, Gates is now just the world's third-richest person, ceding the top spot ranking to his good friend and partner in philanthropy, Warren Buffett, whose net worth jumped $10 billion to $62 billion. (All stock prices and net worth valuations were locked in on Feb. 11.) Ranked No. 2 is Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helú, whose fortune has doubled in just two years to $60 billion.

It is certainly a dawning of a new era. But not just because of Gates' fall. The 22nd annual rankings of the World's Billionaires reflects all sorts of upheavals in the list's makeup. Two years ago, half of the world's 20 richest were from the U.S. Now only four are. India wins bragging rights for having four among the top 10, more than any other country.

In Pictures: The World's Billionaires

By The Numbers: Race For Title Of World's Richest Man

In Pictures: Youngest Billionaires

For the first time ever, the number of billionaires Forbes could identify crossed into four figures, reaching 1,125. The total net worth of the group is $4.4 trillion, up $900 billion from last year. Despite the turbulence in the U.S. markets, Americans account for 42% of the world's billionaires and 37%, of the total wealth; those shares are down two and three percentage points, respectively, from last year.

Sixteen years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia, with 87 billionaires, is the new No. 2 country behind the U.S., easily overtaking Germany, with 59 billionaires, which held the honor for six years.

The rankings include 226 newcomers. Seventy-seven of the new faces come from the U.S., half of whom made their fortunes in finance and investments, including John Paulson and Philip Falcone, both of whom became wealthy shorting subprime debt. Another third of the new billionaires comes from Russia (35), China (28) and India (19). Two of the most noteworthy new entrants are South Africa's Patrice Motsepe and Nigeria's Aliko Dangote, the first black Africans to make their debut among the world's richest. Dangote is also the first-ever Nigerian billionaire.

It is also a record-breaking year for young billionaires, with Forbes finding 50 under the age of 40, 25 of whom are new to the list. Sixty-eight percent of these under-age-40 tycoons built their 10-figure fortunes from scratch, including Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page; former Enron trader John Arnold, who now runs a hedge fund; India's Sameer Gehlaut, who started online brokerage Indiabulls; and, last but not least, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who at age 23 might just be the youngest self-made billionaire in history.

Zuckerberg is probably destined to be the most talked about newcomer of the year because of his age and ingenious social-networking site, but there are fascinating entrepreneurs of all ages climbing into the ranks. Some of the more notable ones include China's Gao Dekang, who is one of the world's biggest makers of down jackets and vests; Portugal's Americo Amorim, who turned his grandfather's small cork operation into the world's largest; and Brazil's Eike Batista, who built and lost a gold mining fortune, before hitting it big in iron ore. He is now one of the world's richest mining billionaires.

With all the rosy news of the past year and the overall gains, it is easy to lose sight of the volatility that has been wreaking havoc on these fortunes on a daily basis for months. For instance, Hong Kong's richest person, Li Ka-shing, lost $5.5 billion of his net worth, all tied to publicly held stocks, in the 37 days between Jan. 4 and Feb. 11.

Meanwhile, mainland China's richest person, 26-year-old Yang Huiyan, fell from $17.3 billion in September to $7.4 billion in the rankings. Google co-founder Sergey Brin's fortune touched $25.5 billion in the past year but is now down to $18.7 billion. Others were hit much harder, falling off the list entirely, including Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEH - news - people ) chief Richard Fuld and Bear Stearns (nyse: BSC - news - people ) ex-chief James Cayne (he was sacked), both victims of the world's credit crunch, and Pulte Homes (nyse: PHM - news - people )' William Pulte, whose stock collapsed along with the housing market.

What will happen in the next 12 months as we continue our wealth watching? There will likely be some big losers, some big winners and a lot of ups and downs in between. The only certainty is change itself. This page is sponsored by www.TheKiwi.ws