Foreign branding

Foreign branding is an advertising and marketing term describing the implied cachet or superiority of domestic products with a foreign or foreign-sounding name.

Related Topics:
Advertising - Marketing

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In English-speaking countries, many cosmetics and fashion brands use French-styled names to imply a connection to the style-conscious. Food and drink items also use French names, trading on the high reputation of France in these areas. One example is the use of the name of the French wine-growing district of Chablis on bottles of generic-quality American-grown white wine. The practice became common enough that Chablis, attached to an American domestic wine, ultimately came to convey an image of cheapness.

Related Topics:
English - Cosmetics - Fashion - French - Chablis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In countries where the common language is not English, English-based foreign branding is often found. For instance, in Germany it is common for television advertisements to be mainly in German, but to end with an English-language motto or slogan.

Related Topics:
Germany - Television

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Japanese markets, product names often have foreign (or foreign-sounding) names.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

English has different connotations than Italian or French.

Related Topics:
Italian - French

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The English-sounding names may be ungrammatical in real English, but in some cases may be accepted when the product reaches foreign markets.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The foreign-branded item need not have a name that would appeal to native speakers of the language. For instance, Pocari Sweat, a popular sports drink marketed in Japan by the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., has a name that to many English speakers would imply that the product actually contains sweat, rather than the intended meaning of a beverage intended to replace the electrolytes lost in sweating.

Related Topics:
Pocari Sweat - Otsuka - Pharmaceutical - Sweat - Electrolyte

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In some cases the foreign name may even be offensive to native speakers. For example, the Mitsubishi Pajero had to be renamed to Montero in Spain and Latin America, since pajero is a Spanish slang term equivalent to "wanker," or even "faggot." http://chameleon-translations.com/Index-Companies-pajero.shtml. Another similar examples are Toyota Laputa (sounding like "la puta" = "the whore") and the Ford Nicar (sounding like "fornicar" - "to fornicate").

Related Topics:
Mitsubishi - Pajero - Wank - Toyota - Laputa - Ford Nicar

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The cold potato and leek soup vichyssoise was invented at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York in the 1910s and was given a French name to make it sound more palatable.

Related Topics:
Vichyssoise - 1910s

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~