Ad 1: Fun Fun rain coatI went for a travel excursion the other day. The travel organiser provided us with a gift bag that consisted of some stuffs like mosquito repellant patches, a balm, a packet of baby wipes (they included this in because the wipes were safe to be applied on the face), a small bottle of sunblock lotion and a rain coat.
The label for the rain jacket struck my attention (see above) and made me and a friend laugh. Putting aside the possibility that the photo could have been Photoshopped, don't you think these models are rather sad/angry looking, as though they were forced to pose. I would say the brand name Fun Fun should have been Sad Sad instead. Perhaps these kid models are Sad Sad because it rains, and putting on those rain jackets doesn't help in making things easier or any happier either :))
Ad 2: Sofa set
One day, as I flipped through an interior design magazine, I noticed the bi-lingual magazine contained so many grammatical errors. Whether the articles are in English or in Malay, I was appalled by the number of wrong words used. Considering that the magazine was published by a renowned Malaysian interior designer and tv personality, those mistakes should not have happened in the first place. I mean, didn't they proof read?
I do enjoy reading advertisements in papers and magazines sometimes. Since my wife and I were looking for contractors and contacts for interior items, I was browsing through the ads in the magazine too. On the second last page, there was an ad on a sofa set. Judging from the sets shown in the ad, I'd say, design wise....well... nothing intriguing about them. At least they were not as interesting as the words they used in their ad, which said:
"There is gene filling around view, it is as happiness, sweet and warm, and the thoughts are cleared in details, nobody knows where does confidence come from. Maybe it has thousands of resources, millions of embodiments, but when we are faced with the warm and real house, the confidence is easy to be found, placing myself into complete space, closing eyes such as the extending branch, colour stretching and white cloud disappearance field in deep heart becomes lovely soon....
When you want to sell something, credibility is built through proper use of words so that information about your product is delivered effectively to readers/potential buyers. I wonder if the ad was prepared by the same writers for the magazine since the words used are all too flowery and catchy, they lost their meaning. I as a reader, ended up dazed and confused - just what the heck were they trying to say here?
Now, let's quickly translate what could possibly be the message(s) that the ad was trying (too hard) to tell us, shall we?
"...gene filling around view..." and "...where does confidence come from..."
- hmmmm....if humans, animals, insects... whatever, are in the same room where the sofa is, kinda' hard to imagine that their genes could somehow exit their bodies and fill up the room. With regard to confidence, maybe it's in their genes (pun intended), hehee..
"...placing myself into complete space..."
- I wonder whether does the ad try to make us imagine being lost into complete space or it was describing what the copywriter was feeling when he/she wrote the ad. It sure sounds like the latter. Maybe the copywriter should write a novel some day.
- I think ads should always make customers understand what benefits they will get from choosing a particular product or service, and this can be achieved by using the word 'YOU' instead of 'I/ME'. Say for examples, an ad for a fabric softener "Softness you can feel" or a courier service "The name you can trust!". Unless of course it's something like McDonald's tagline that says I'm lovin' it! - even THAT is putting us, the customers to say I'm lovin' it!, not the McDonald's owners/franchisees/franchisors.
"...extending branch, colour stretching and white cloud disappearance field in deep heart becomes lovely soon..."
- errrr... what?????
Ad 3: Hijama air vacuum
Hijama is the Arabic term for acupuncture. My parents have this one health gadget to help them perform hijama on their own. The gadget, just like the conservative approach, use cuppings. However, it provides a more relaxed and less painful way and does not cause blood to be drawn by vacuum since it does not involve skin incision or burning of papers inside the cup to make the cup cling to the skin. Nowadays, they no longer use it though when one day, my mum experienced some skin disorder at the site chosen for cupping.
I found the box with the gadget still inside it the other day, on a shelf. Judging from the 'instructions to use' on the box, obviously the whole thing is made in China. Then, on the side of the box, here's what the manufacture wrote with regard to the benefits from using the product:
Health care gift, old and little all proper
- hmmmm, so how about those who are young and big? hehee..
Elegant features and economy enduring
- great to know that the features are elegant that it can endure (if not help us to endure) the current economic turmoil.
Ego diagnosis, health care prevention
- so it's recommended to any egotistical maniac out there who doesn't care about their health then?
Inside disease, outside remove, result special - I bet it is...
Traditional Chinese medicine, China treasure
- how lucky we are...while archeologists spend years digging for treasures buried in the land of China, we could easily get this from the night market.
Ads 4: Ad on radio and t.v.
Don't you just hate it when you see or hear an ad over the t.v. or radio that ends with laughter? Say for examples, family members are laughing because the foods are delicious as mum cooks only with the cooking oil brand J or two friends can now play tennis together because they no longer have sprained muscles, thanx to the massage oil brand K or a customer laughs with a sales assistant when buying a washing machine at a well known electrical/electronic store......hahahaa, hohohoh, hehehehee...
Oh please....enough pretending already! These ads make me (and wife) sick...
Penguin Rush
Ad 1: Fun Fun rain coat
6 Comments:
Hi Pisces Man
Just came across your blog searching in Google Blogs for the word "hijama" (ie cupping) as I myself am very interested in the subject (in fact I have started my own blogsite on the subject!).
Anyways you talk about the funny (in fact hilarious!) translation from Chinese that we find on products and signposts in China (yes there's a whole series of pictures somewhere on the net, a collection of photos of funny signs / notices maybe taken by tourists especially during the Olympics).
Yes correct, they are hilarious. However we have to remind ourselves of the other side of the coin, which would be: The Chinese hypothetically ruling and imposing their language over the world, and then the English and the rest try to translate their signposts into the predominant language of that age (ie Chinese), and then the Chinese laughing at the pathetic attempts of other nations trying to write in their language.
It would probably be just as hilarious. So moral: although it is funny and a good laugh, the opposite would probably be just as funny if we tried, so at least we should maybe commend them for at least trying to translate into other languages(and I'm not just talking about the Chinese, there are collections of other photos of signposts throughout the world like India and Africa where the English translations is atrocious), but at the same time, I have yet to see an Englishman speaking fluent Urdu or Malay or in fact other language in a way that is not hilarious either!
Sorry not meaning to lecture, just something to think about.
Anyways, back to the hijama, I am on a personal quest to find out more and maybe even learn this 'alternative therapy', because as I understand it, it's probably the 'fastest and most direct DETOX known to mankind' - at least that is how I would decribe it.
If your parents could provide with any other information on this, I would be most grateful.
Thanks
Shuaib
Abdun, along the same lines check out the name of this restaurant and try to imagine how they arrived at that. :D
Shuaib,
thanx for the comments. Who would have thought your search on Google Blogs would direct you to this one eh? Sori if this blog didn't give you what you need or looking for though :0
Yeah, it was quite a lecture there, but I don't mind. It's interesting how you raised the matter through a different perspective.
But then, it's in human nature right to laugh at other people's wrong doings and mishaps, as long as the joke is not on them, haha.
When I WAS a Toastmaster, I learned not to laugh at how those (especially the less experienced ones) who struggle in their attempts to publicly speak in English. So, I concur with your viewpoints there.
The China manufacturer of the air vacuum device may hardly care how the Chinese is translated into English, because chances are the company cares more about the money - as long as it sells like hot cakes and the device is easy to use, the English wordings are of least importance.
But in the case of the interior design magazine, grammatical errors should be minimized if not completely avoided because this involves the reputation of the company.
All I'm trying to say is that making mistakes when speaking a foreign language is forgivable and understandable but extra care should be given when translating something into a foreign language (Malay, English, Arab etc) especially if the public can see them.
Btw, I didn't point out the Chinese device / Chinese mistakes only loh. I pointed out ads and marketing (in general) that I find amusing maaa... :))
Lastly, on my parents' experience and providing info on Hijama, not sure if we can be of help. Chances are you know more than we do. But we know this right - it is one of the methods recommended by the prophet Muhammad pbuh.
Hisham,
haha.. funny. Hope no error when serving foods there.
Eh, why la didn't tell me about your newborn. I can come and visit lah...;p
Haha. That's my sister's kid. Even I've never seen her before except in pictures.
Oh Yeah? Sori for not reading properly, hehee..
Post a Comment
<< Home