During August, The Spin trotted across the globe and stopped over at a few picturesque villages and towns in the remote corners of Japan.
While admiring the incredible culture, food, landscapes, and hospitality on offer, we also found our fair share of amusement.
Since The Spin couldn’t speak Japanese, we relied quite heavily on Google Translate to communicate. This turned out to be equally comical for the locals as it was for us because the mobile application often translated words literally and, often, out of context.
For instance, an honest response such as “I’m having a blast” translates to “Watashi wa bakuhatsu shiteimasu.” After leaving a few fellow restaurant patrons rolling on the floor with laughter, it took an English-speaking cashier to tell us why we need to stop using that phrase, given that it colloquially translates to “I’m exploding.”
The Spin also came across a score of ‘Google Translate-d’ signs across the country that left us in fits and giggles. We especially choked on one that read, “please pay for the congestion at the same time.” We still have no clue what that sign intended to say.
Another one at a public bicycle docking station encouraged users to “push it to the depths”, which resulted in an hour and a half of imaginative puns.
When The Spin returned to the shores of Dubai and shared these stories with our friends and family, we were shown a photograph of peanuts at a store, with a hilarious warning sign put up by Captain Obvious.
Guess we are as allergic to ‘water is wet’ signs as some others are to peanuts.
Once word got out that The Spin is easily tickled by communications and marketing mishaps, we began receiving a few others in our inbox.
An industry veteran shared an image of a poster adorning a shop window stating, “Healthy smiles start here.” Clearly, ‘inspired’ copy isn’t everything, when the placement of the ad creative is marred by icky chocolate dripping from the corners of an ‘artistic’ tooth-gap smile.
Another photograph of a banner shared with The Spin calling for teachers to apply for roles at a school made it quite clear why the academic institution needs teachers.
We aren’t sure whether they have an opening in the English department, but it certainly looks like their marketing and communications departments could do with some lessons.
