Embarrassing names – should they be told?!

This is a story that will never end, to the great amusement of people with a slightly immature sense of humour. I might even be describing myself. In a globalised marketplace, words, terms or phrases that make perfect sense in their own language can be unintentionally crazy, daft or rude when they cross over into other cultures.

Problems can be as mild as the problem facing Barclays, who have declined to comment on press speculation that it is planning to drop its eagle logo, amid concerns that it has possible Nazi connotations. Once when I was in the United States I had a good giggle drinking a bottle of Wanker beer. The French bank, BNP Paribas, have given up using their name when, for instance, they try to book a curry night out in London.

Today’s story is about a joint Nigerian/Russin oil and gas venture called Nigaz (pronounced “nye-gaz”). This has caused a flurry of outrage on Twitter and Facebook, although it hasn’t caused a stir in Nigeria, yet.

According to Simon Anholt, a top branding consultant who developed the National Brands Index, says such mistakes are usually “harmless”. “The fact is that whenever there is a blunder like this it delights people, it gives them something to talk about and it gives them a bright moment in what might otherwise be a dull day,” he told the BBC Network Africa programme. He admitted that it could be seen as offensive, but said it was fairly uncommon for companies to change their names. Such blunders are more common in government-run organisations, he said, “because they simply don’t have the marketing experience to check these things out properly”.

The following link to Rude Food isn’t really suitable for very young readers.