As scientists the Beauty Brains believe that a cosmetic product is doomed to fail if it’s based on a bad formula. But let’s not forget that marketing also has a huge impact on a product’s success or failure. Consider the case of these two beauty products that failed because they were lost in translation:
The “Mist Stick” curling iron from Clairol. When the company launched this product into Germany they failed to realize that “mist” translates into a German slang term for manure. Needless to say, not too many people were interested in using a “Manure Stick” on their hair.
Colgate introduced Cue toothpaste in France which, unfortunately, had the same name as a famous French porn magazine. (Then again, considering this happened in France, it’s surprising that the name didn’t HELP product sales!)
It looks like scientists aren’t the only ones who need to check their research before launching new products!
Thanks to Sarah Bellum for steering me to Inventorspot.com for this post!
–Mid Brain
Loading ...
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s just… sexy..
manure stick… and porn toothpaste.. hahahaha
Funny stuff, though I could do without your assumptions about France.
A non-beauty product name error I love is the attempt to market the Chevy Nova in Latin America. The car was not popular, likely because “no va” means “it doesn’t go” in Spanish.
I want manure stick.