You see some of the craziest things printed on tee shirts in our town. We often laugh at the mixed messages and confused “chinglish” on the shirts, most of which are probably not understood by the wearer. While walking to a meeting a few months ago, we saw this girl wearing a shirt that spoke some genuine truth:
This is definitely a culture where brand names mean something (usually, something else). We were recently shopping at our favorite store when I picked up the box of baking soda on the right:
Even though they seem to have done a pretty good job of altering the front of the box, the “Products Trait” statement on the top panel still (accidentally?) uses the “Arm and Hammer” script signature:
While shopping in our local market, I picked up the following two tubes of toothpaste:
If English is your native language, it’s easy for you to figure out which one is the copycat. But imagine how hard it can be if you use a totally different writing system. For instance, if you happen to be fond of a particular clear, sparkling soft drink, which of these two bottles would you select?
The genuine article (locally known as shui bi) is on the right. If you’re a foreigner and don’t make the right choice based on the slight difference in the first Chinese character, you’ll figure it out when you open the bottle and take a drink. And if you want some fast food to go with your soda, you can stop in at the new restaurant on the corner of our residential district for a “humburger” (which is really sort of a gristly chicken sandwich). It will be served in this box:
Even though the capital “M” doesn’t have rounded edges on the top, it’s pretty obvious where the slogan on the side of the box came from. But I must admit – I’m lovin’ it too, especially since I needed a few examples for my recent International Business Law class dealing with Copyrights and Trademarks…
The arm&hatchet is hilarious! I don’t think I would be lovin it if it was a gristly chicken sandwich. I prefer my bacon angus humburger.
Great post! I think you have more copies in your city than we do up here…!!
saw a snoopy shirt the other day that read, “Snilpy.”
Did you read “products trait”? I do not think it is grammatically correct. But, I’m sure their english is better than my chinese.
Speaking of shirts, we saw a Chinese girl wearing a stylish sweatshirt this week which proclaimed that “Blondes have more fun.” As you can imagine, she was anything but blonde…
Scott, It is funny to click on the “Products Trait” photo and try to read the English claims of the product … a great example of the Chinglish we see every day. And you are right – our Chinese is far worse than their English (but I don’t publish it on a million product packages).
Brian and SB, Looking for “copycats” could be an interesting pastime here. Recently, the trade bureau stopped a large, local coffee producer from making “CoffeeMate,” labeled and packaged just like the American branded version. At first, the company CEO claimed he was not aware that “CoffeeMate” was a trademark. He then changed his story, complaining that it was such a strong trademark that it dominated the market and should be released to the public domain. The bottom line: you may have more “copycats” than you know (they’re just really good at it!).