Brand names in different languages are a bit of a minefield, and companies are well advised to undertake research before running with a brand name in different countries.

For example, the French soft drinks brand called Pschitt. Looks OK, huh? Until I tell you that the P is silent when the name is pronounced in French. That may explain why Orangina made it big world-wide, but Pschitt didn't.

I recently stumbled across a website that explains (in Spanish) some classic instances of brand names gone wrong. I already knew several of them, but the Mazda Laputa was a new one to me. That'd be a hard one to sell in any country with a Latin-based language - "La puta" in Spanish means "the whore", and I can't see many people buying a car with that writ large across the back!

If you need help with international brand names, contact us at SalfTrans for professional advice.