Here’s a smart print ad for
BMW’s X5 Sports Activity Vehicle.
Now imagine you’re an ad agency based in Houston, Texas and
your client is asking for a French version to run in a multilingual global
magazine. You’ve done Spanish versions many times and Manuel in the creative
department turns great English ads into great ads for the Hispanic market. The
French version however is a new challenge unless you use what’s known as
‘machine translation’. And it’s a click away to anyone with Internet access.
Here’s what you get when you machine translate the headline and body copy from
English to French using an online tool:
Maman du football
Voici la toute nouvelle BMW. Lorsque nous avons dévoilé le
X5 d'origine, ce n'était pas seulement un nouveau véhicule, il a été une
nouvelle catégorie: le Sports Activity Vehicle. Aujourd'hui, nous avons pris le
X5 à un niveau encore plus élevé. Grâce aux avancées comme un siège de
troisième rangée en option, en ajoutant plus d'espace à l'intérieur sans
sacrifier l'efficacité globale. Et avec astucieusement scuplted lignes
extérieures et de nouvelles options d'intérieur, y compris le cuir riche Napa,
c'est une habile combinaison de la fonction et la forme. Le BMW X5, nous avons
étendu sur une grande idée.
It sounds like gibberish for the most part.
For those of you who cannot read French, here is the machine
translated English version of the machine translated French version.
Football mom.
Here very new BMW. When we revealed X5 origin, this was not
only one new vehicle, it was a new category: the Sports Activity Vehicle.
Today, we took X5 on a level even higher. Thanks to advanced like a seat of
third line in option, by adding more; space with interior without sacrificing
total effectiveness. And with astutely scuplted outside lines and of new
options interior, including rich leather Napa, is a skilful combination of the
function and the form. BMW X5, we extended on a great idea.
Now compare that to the original.
Soccer momma.
Introducing the all-new BMW. When we unveiled the original
X5, it wasn’t just a new vehicle, it was a new category: the Sports Activity
Vehicle. Today we’ve taken the X5 to an even higher level. With advancements
like an optional third row seat, adding more room inside without sacrificing
overall efficiency. And with artfully scuplted exterior lines and new interior
options, including rich Napa leather, it’s a masterful mix of function and
form. The BMW X5, we’ve expanded on a great idea.
My point is this: machine translation issues aside, the body
copy could be easily translated by a skilled human translator or more accurate
translator software. What’s impossible for a machine to be sensitive to are
cultural references like the expression “soccer mom”.
The necessity of transcreation
Transcreation: a
freer form of translation, probably closer to copywriting, the result of which
is a text linguistically and culturally adapted for specific countries and/or
regions. Transcreated material should have a similar impact on the target
readership in the foreign country as the original source text (whereas
translated material may still be clearly intended for use in the country where
the document originated).
Here’s an example from a campaign we had to adapt for Québec
a few years ago.
This campaign for Durex condoms was aimed at encouraging its
target to make a time for sex each week. The Durex “Hump Day” campaign played
on the words hump (for Wednesday/middle of the week) and humping which I let
Wikipedia define.
The creative idea cleverly dramatized how things are rather
cool on Tuesdays, hot on Wednesdays, and then cool again on Thursdays. Or how
the tent is down on Tuesdays and erect on Wednesdays.
Now, just ask a machine translator like Google translate for
the French version of Hump Day and it’s at a loss. Unless you contribute a
translation yourself to improve the software.
Only with transcreation done by an experienced advertising
creative copywriter could we have come up with a culturally relevant solution.
The Durex Hump Day became les Cinq à sexe de Durex.
Rather than link to a day of the week, we linked to a time
of day and a common expression among Quebeckers for happy hour. A ‘cinq à sept’
refers to a get together after work from 5 to 7. The word ‘sept’ sounds like
the word ‘sex’.
The transcreated ads look like this.
Never say never. But I doubt a machine could have figured
this one out.
Recent Comments