Lost in Translation - Hindi to Telugu ads and one great Tamil to Hindi - Paying back in the same Coin!!

1. Po Ra Pu, Surf Excel: Sometimes I feel very annoyed that I seem to be the only person who critically analyzes the way advertisement campaigns are made and executed. Take for instance Surf Excel’s “Po Rub Pu” campaign. 

The campaign (yawn) takes the usual tack of dirty clothes becoming sparkling clean with Surf Excel. But what makes the ad annoying is the language (Hinglish). Everyone in the ad mouths the words Po Rub Pu which is the short form of the phrase “Pour Rub Pour” or saying that a a little Surf Excel is enough to make the toughest stains disappear. 

But an issue crops up when a Telugu-speaking person sees the advertisements. It sounds like Po Ra Po (పో రా పో). Po Ra Po is slang, it means “you!! Get lost”. children can never say Po Ra Po to their elders. It is quite jarring to see young kids saying Po Ra Po to elderly women. No one has even protested and it is business as usual. 

2. Na Cheez Anta - Amul Cheese Telugu Advertisement - Lost in Translation - Translation blunder!:  This advertisement was really funny, I want Hindi readers to comment (Clue the key word's meaning in Urdu), of course, Hyderabad being quite Urdu dominant many Telugu-speaking Hyderabad friends too might get it. As they say, the devil is in detail! 

Nacheez is an Urdu word that means - 'nothing'. But it is often used to describe oneself. E.g. Nacheez ko Maneesha kehte hain - I am known as Maneesha. It is used to convey or denote a sense of humility about oneself.

3. Parimatch Sports’s ఆమె ఆడుతుంది, మీరు జరుపుకోండి:  The above advertisements were on the metro pillars in Hyderabad during the WPL tournament in March. This became a talking point on social media. It means, “She plays, you celebrate” in Telugu.

I had many doubts racing in my mind. Celebrate? How should I celebrate? Why should I celebrate if she is playing? (don’t even know the person). Not my wife, daughter and I don’t even know her remotely?

The mystery was solved when I googled to find the original English version. The English version was “She plays, you win”. This app is a game and we can bet as the game progresses. The more we interact the more is the chance to win.  

4. The dosa ballebaaz (batsman): Idly/Dosa batters are the saviours in many houses. The cumbersome process of making the batter is taken out of hand with the onset of ready-made idly/Dosa batters. Very convenient and reasonably priced they are hugely popular. Wanting to take advantage of ready-made Idly/Dosa batters a Tamil company foraged into the Hindi markets ( north Indian markets). 

So far so good. The package said Idly/dosa batter in English and Tamil. Trying to attract the Hindi buyers they translated idly/Dosa batter into Hindi. Google translate feature nicely kicked the company in the rear side. 

Idly/Dosa batter became Idly/”Dosa Ballebaaz”, Literally idly/dosa batsman. The buyers would have scratched their heads in bewilderment. They must have thought that this Idly/Dosa mix was only for CSK batsmen. Jokes apart never trust Google Translate when your life, brand, and career are on the line.