"Shambo"

Ann Elk

I was driving home last night listening to 'Pet Sounds' and the have a slot sponsored by O'Briens Sandwich bar who have introduced a new sandwich, of some description, and called it the "Shambo".

Now I'm not too sure of the extent to which phrasiology travels, but Westwards this nam conjures up some strange pictures - peronally I think that its a big crusty stale bap, filled with slash-hooks and wheel braces. Has anyone else any pictures of a "shambo" in their minds, or any other inaptly named products?

I know the Vauxhall/Opel Nova wasn't a hit in Spain - apparently 'No Va' means doesn't/won't go - bit of a gaffe methinks.

stagolee

i dont know if it's true but apparently years ago oriental computer manufacturers wang were about to name their top of the range pc the "king" until someone with better english pointed out that the "wang king" might cause some unintended hilarity

stagolee

also i remember beeing told that "sega" and "pajero"(the jeep) mean something very different in some medeteranian countries

Dave!

I saw a sign for that in O'Briens a while ago... I thought I saw something about it being a shark sandwich... Or maybe that was just me putting 2 and 2 together and getting 5, lol. Who knows! I won't be trying it though, that's for sure...

Mossy Monk

stagolee wrote:

also i remember beeing told that "sega" and "pajero"(the jeep) mean something very different in some medeteranian countries

what do they mean?

stagolee

Mossy Monk wrote:

what do they mean?

well thats the thing I was told this so long ago that i can't really remember, i think "pajero" might mean w*nker in italian and "sega" means something in spanish but maybe its the other way round.

sorry, thats a bit crap really isn't it

JungleBunny

Apparently pajero means wnaker in Spanish (well Argentina anyway)

Mossy Monk

stagolee wrote:

sorry, thats a bit crap really isn't it

yes it is but at least you tried

impr0v

'Bora', as in the VW car means dung in Nigeria allegedly, and Toyota had some difficulties with the MR2 in France where M-R-deux, if said fast enough, sounds like merde.

The 'shambo' is an example of why you shouldn't let the marketing pukes have free reign with product nomenclature. I think most people whould shy away from ordering one to avoid saying the stupid word and sounding like an ass. It's also shaped like a shamrock in cross section which automatically designates it as a tourist meal with all the negative connotations associated with this, such as being over-priced, etc.

Shabadu

stagolee, I think you are thinking of Wang computers infamous slogan, "Wang Cares".

Wang Cares
In the late '70s, the American computer company Wang was puzzled why its British branch refused to use its latest motto "Wang Cares". However, to British ears the motto sounds too close to "****". (masturbaters)

This and many more faux-pas ici.

Nevyn

'Jiff' was changed to 'Ciff'
as jiff means sperm in spanish speaking countries and they were trying
to take the brand international.

stagolee

Shabadu wrote:

stagolee, I think you are thinking of Wang computers infamous slogan, "Wang Cares".

ah that could well be it , I only heard about the wang king story second hand, "wang cares" ha! i can just imagine that being said in a posh english accent on a computer advert

Thaed wrote:

'Jiff' was changed to 'Ciff'
as jiff means sperm in spanish speaking countries and they were trying
to take the brand international.

Ah! I had actually wondered if jiff and ciff were the same company, I can see why they changed it, "sperm" its not exactly what any self respecting spaniard would want to wipe down their kitchen counters with

EDIT:It seems i was right(ish!)

from the page Shabadu linked to wrote:

In Italy "sega" is the unofficial but most popular name for the act of male masturbation. So, the popular videogame makers SEGA Enterprises, attempting to disassociate SEGA from sega, changed the pronunciation to "see-ga" in their ads, as if to educate Italians about proper English (or Japanese?) pronunciation.

Many Italians are surprised to learn that SEGA is not pronounced see-ga, but say-ga, outside of Italy.
Also alleged, is that when the SEGA-sponsored Arsenal Gunners soccer team was to play the Italian Fiorentina team for the Championship (circa 1999), the Arsenals argued to play the game in the U.K. Apparently, their away flag displays the sponsor prominently and it might inspire, er I mean offend the Italian TV audience.

Mitsubishi Pajero, Montero
Mitsubishi had to rename its Pajero automobile because the word is a vulgar term for a masturbating man.
This story is true, although there was no blunder involved because the car was marketed under a different name from the beginning. In Spanish-speaking countries, this model has been sold as the Montero.

Genghis

Yeah, its a focaccia style bap bread baked in the shape of a shamrock.

I presume they thought that "Shamrock" and "Sambo" = "Shambo".

I think it is a ridiculous name - "Sham" being a negative word describing something that is made incorrectly; who's going to order one of them! Besides, what is the appeal (besides the twee factor) of a bread in the shape of a sandwich?

I would never use the word 'sambo' either - for me it is right up there with the "hang sangich" - maybe thats next on the menu at O'Briens?

horseflesh

Sega is **** in Italian

NotMe

Genghis wrote:

"hang sangich" -

heheh

stagolee

another funny one from the page shabadu liked to:

"The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-ke-ken-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."

EDIT:and another couple of ones from there that had me laughing and people in the office looking at me funny (thanks shabadu )

"Perdue Chicken
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." "

and

"Powergenitalia, www.powergenitalia.com
No, Powergenitalia is not the company responsible for all that spam offering to help you with organ extensions or to invigorate you with Viagara-powered vitality. It is also not the Italian division of energy giant Powergen. When numerous English-speakers on the web took note of the web site www.powergenitalia.com, Powergen felt obligated to announce that they had no connection with the site and in fact had no Italian offices, so that people would not think that it was their Translation Marketing Mistake. No, they left that distinctive honor to the marketing folks at Powergen Italia, an Italian maker of battery chargers. Perhaps they were shocked to learn its a World Wide Web. The website now switches you over to the more aptly named for English-speakers, http://www.batterychargerpowergen.it. "

Ann Elk

Genghis wrote:

I think it is a ridiculous name - "Sham" being a negative word describing something that is made incorrectly; who's going to order one of them! Besides, what is the appeal (besides the twee factor) of a bread in the shape of a sandwich?

I would never use the word 'sambo' either - for me it is right up there with the "hang sangich" - maybe thats next on the menu at O'Briens?

Around Galway direction - Sham is the term commonly used to refer to members of the travelling community - I can't see to man Galwegians queueing up to order it.