Throughout the history of mobile phone branding, some names have been well-received, while others have sparked criticism, and a few have been utterly ridiculous.
However, Nokia has managed to surpass them all…by unintentionally naming one of its mobile lines ‘the prostitute’.
The new Nokia Lumia translates from Spanish to mean ‘hooker’ or ‘call girl’, leading to ridicule and derision across the Internet.
Fortunately for the mobile giant, the term ‘lumia’ is not commonly used and is primarily found in Spanish dialects with significant gypsy influences.
Yet, it has now been thrust into the spotlight, far from its previous obscurity.
The blunder first gained traction on Twitter, leading to comments such as: ‘Lumia’ seemingly translates to hooker in Spanish. Let’s discuss.’
Another user quipped: ‘If Lumia means prostitute in Spanish, does that make all Nokia 710 and 800 owners pimps?’
Nonetheless, it’s important to note that Nokia is not the first mobile company to fall victim to the ‘Lost in Translation’ trap.
Earlier this year, it came to light that the personal assistant on Apple’s iPhone 4S is named Siri, which closely resembles the Japanese word ‘shiri’, meaning ‘ass’ or ‘buttocks’.
Other companies have also committed marketing missteps—when Ford introduced its Pinto model in Brazil in 1971, it was poorly received.
The name refers to a horse with white and colored patches, but also serves as slang for ‘male genitals’.
Chevy encountered similar trouble when it rebranded its Chevy II as the Nova, as it was believed the vehicle struggled to sell in South America, where ‘Nova’ means ‘it doesn’t go’.
Sega faced issues in Italy when it abbreviated its name from the rather bland ‘Service Games’. Unfortunately, ‘Sega’ in Italian is slang for male masturbation.
Even Clairol faced hurdles in 2006 with the launch of its ‘Mist Stick’ curling iron.
In Germany, sales fell short of expectations because ‘mist’ translates to ‘excrement’.
However, the most infamous gaffe belongs to beer makers Coors.
In 1983, they introduced a Halloween mascot named BeerWolf who had the slogan ‘Turn it loose!’
But when this campaign aired in Spain, it translated to ‘Suffer from diarrhea!’
Nokia is hopeful that its Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 will directly compete with the iPhone and Google’s Android, branding it as the first genuine Windows phone.
Both models are set at a mid-range price, but the Lumia 800 stands out with superior specs, including an 8-megapixel camera equipped with an f/2.2 Carl Zeiss Tessar lens and an LED flash.
Additionally, it sports a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED display with a resolution of 800×480 pixels and Nokia’s ClearBlack technology to reduce glare.
by Sasha Dubronitz
