A t-shirt manufacturer in Miami printed shirts in Spanish to commemorate the Pope’s visit. By referring to the Pontiff as “la papa” instead of “el Papa”, their shirts read: “I saw the potato.”
A local company sent us a translation for proofing. The phrase was to be printed on baby bibs that, in English, said: “I am the baby brother.” Fortunately, we were able to steer them away from the translation they had done in house: “Soy el bebé de mi hermano” which would have meant literally, “I am the baby of my brother.”
Another local company ran into trouble when they were in a rush to get a brochure out to the printers. They needed the line: "Healthy Kids Day" for the front cover. Thinking the free online translation services would help, they published the brochure with the translation that came from Babel Fish - but it said: "Dia Sano De los Cabritos" - which, much to their dismay turns out to be something close to: Health Day of the Baby Goats.
When translated into Chinese, Pepsi's "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" became "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave."
Not to be outdone in gaffes, Coca Cola’s name in China was first read as “Ke-kou-ke-la” meaning “bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse stuffed with wax,” depending on the dialect. Coke eventually found a phonetic equivalent translating more pleasantly into “happiness in the mouth.”
Coors slogan, "Turn it loose," in Spanish became "suffer from diarrhea."
Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux once launched an American ad campaign by proclaiming, “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.”
Clairol introduced its "Mist Stick" curling iron to the German market; then discovered that "mist" is slang for manure.
In 1987, Colonel Sanders set up his first mainland China KFC outlet. Their famous “finger-lickin’ good” was set into Chinese characters that meant “eat your fingers off.” That was quickly changed and today there are over 900 KFC restaurants in China.
Sursa: http://www.languageresources.com/blunders.html