Lost in Translation

The Guardian Reports:

It probably seemed a good idea at the time. But Russia's attempt to create a joint gas venture with Nigeria is set to become one of the classic branding disasters of all time ‑ after the new company was named Nigaz.

Unfortunate and unforeseen translations of brand names have been the bane of marketers in an increasingly globalized world. While American culture is particularly pervasive, I have to wonder just how sensitive two countries in Eurasia and African should be to what is likely to be a very US taboo against "the N-Word." In this case, however, "Nigaz" is a conjunction of descriptive company and country names. And it is not like they will be buying 30 second ad spots on American TV. If "Conoco-Phillips" translated into a pejorative in a Nigerian dialect or in Russian it would not stop them from using the name.