可口可乐广告语闹乌龙

What Coca-Cola might have thought was a harmless Kiwi greeting has turned into an embarrassing PR blunder.

可口可乐创造的认为无伤大雅的新西兰式问候语却成为令人尴尬的公关失误。

 

The beverage manufacturer has run signage around the country that reads: "Kia ora, mate."

该饮料厂商在全国（的贩售机上）印制了“Kia ora, mate.”的字样。

 

 

But mate is the te reo Maori word for death or dead.

然而，毛利语中mate这个单词的意思是“死亡”。

 

Communications expert Cas Carter said it showed the multinational company had not bothered to take the time to do its research, or to seek local guidance.

人际专家Cas Carter说，这表明这家跨国公司没有花费时间去做调查，或向当地人请教这方面的问题。

 

"There is a growing trend among international companies to try and reflect local culture in their marketing. Done well it is awesome - done poorly - it is a major risk," she said.

她说：“跨国公司中有一种做法非常流行，就是想在营销中尝试体现当地文化，（这种做法）处理好了的话会很棒，但也会有搞砸的风险。”

 

"The blunder is even greater because 'mate' is such a well-known Maori word because it is in our most well-known haka – which has been seen all over the world."

“这个错误挺严重的，因为‘mate’这个属于毛利语的单词众人皆知，它就出现在最著名的哈卡舞中，而全世界都已经看过这段舞。”

 

Social media users have pointed out the irony in a soft drink company using the phrase.

一些社交媒体用户已经指出一家软饮料公司使用这个词语的讽刺感。

 

"Coca-Cola is not the healthiest drink so saying 'hello, death' looks like they're fessing up how unhealthy the drink really is," Carter said.

Carter说：“可口可乐不是一种健康饮料，所以说‘你好，死亡’（这句广告词）好像就是在承认这款饮料的不健康。”

 

She said a clever apology could fix it quickly but the blunder was unlikely to affect the company's bottom line.

她表示，一份巧妙的道歉可以快速解决这个问题，而且这一失误不太可能影响公司的盈亏。

 

University of Auckland Business School head of marketing Bodo Lang said cross-cultural mistakes in marketing and advertising were more common than people realised.

奥克兰大学商学院营销主任Bodo Lang说：“营销和广告中的跨文化错误比人们意识到的更为普遍。”

 

 

 

"Generally they occur when a global brand uses language or cultural icons inappropriately. The most common response to such incidences is humour and a short burst of commenting and copycat activity on social media," he said.

他说：“（跨文化错误）通常会出现在在一个国际品牌使用语言或文化符号不当之时，而最常见的反应就是大家一笑了之，然后在社交媒体上引起热议和效仿。”

 

"One of the easy ways to avoid such blunders is to enlist the help of professional translator or a cultural consultant. Incurring such a small upfront cost is typically worth it because it prevents having to deal with bigger issues later on and dealing with disappointed customers through the various touch points that global brands have."

“有个简单的方法能避免这种失误，那就是求助于专业翻译或文化顾问，这些前期花费的小成本是值得的，因为它能避免后面需要处理更大的麻烦，以及通过跨国分店来安慰失望的消费者。”

 

Coca-Cola has been contacted for comment.

可口可乐公司已被要求对此作出回应。