I love my adopted country.
And I love the fact that Spain is considered among the leading powers in the western World.
But I am also a marketer. And, moreover, an English marketer who has had to deal with a number of situations over the years where Spanish clients have been upset that I have prevented them from publishing or printing something that does not meet my English standards. With marketing you have to get things right.
In Spain an accounting company is called an Asesor. We had an “Asesor” client who was about to print all of their new corporate stationery, from brochures to business cards with their new branding idea to reach out to the English speaking market.
Their new name? Global Ass… thankfully, I caught that one in time.
Had the Spanish Prime Minster asked me I would have strongly recommended that he not be photographed in front of a banner for the World Travel Forum with the message SPAINWTF… seriously, I would have wrestled him to the ground (security aside) to prevent any photographic record being created.
Instead, it would seem that they are happy in their ignorance to become an international laughing stock.
If only someone, somewhere, at some point in the planning process had, perhaps, asked an English speaker about the slogan this might not have happened.
No, scratch that. There is no maybe about it… In an instant this would have changed. That’s all it would have taken.
If you want to play the international game, you need to learn the rules, and using an elementary school understanding of English coupled with Google Translator is simply not good enough. Many people criticise politicians for not speaking English… I am not one of them. I do not feel that a leader should be able to speak English as a prerequisite. But if you don’t master the language, do not expose yourself to ridicule by not ensuring that everything you publish has been checked by a native speaker.
I mean, WTF???