This means what!?

A long time ago I was involved with publishing a magazine for Japanese grounds and golf course managers. It was a matter of translating a magazine written and produced in English for the Japanese market. I was responsible for assuring its quality and it was a bit of a nightmare, basically, because I neither speak nor read Japanese. Why was I attempting something like that, then? I don't know.

But I started collecting stories about marketing in other countries. One of my favorites was when Chevy tried to market its Nova brand in Mexico. It didn't sell well, and Chevy didn't understand why until it was advised by someone who spoke Spanish that, in Spanish, Nova basically means "won't go." Sweet, huh? 

So I guess I have some sympathy for people trying to make a buck by trying to reach people in other countries. But sometimes you have to wonder.

An e-mail made its way to me this morning from a  marketing person in China. The client is a Chinese manufacturer of golf balls and equipment, and after reading the message -- with just a little difficulty -- I spy this graphic attached to the message. (Click on the photo and read the copy.)

OK, so after all these years and all the Chevy Nova-type marketing misfires, companies all over the world are still putting stuff out in other languages that they apparently never ran by a native speaker.

Around the office we racked our brains trying to figure out what they were trying to say, but in the end as far as we're concerned, it's a Nova.