• When coloring in 800,000 pixels on a map of India, Microsoft colored eight of them a different shade of green to represent the disputed Kashmiri territory. The difference in greens meant Kashmir was shown as non-Indian, and the product was promptly banned in India. Microsoft was left to recall all 200,000 copies of the offending Windows 95 operating system software to try and heal the diplomatic wounds. "It cost millions," [Microsoft's Tom] Edwards said.  (Byte level research, www.bytelevel.com)
  

• When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the U.S., with the beautiful Caucasian baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside, since most people can't read.  (iib.gsu.edu/cgbl/WorkshopII.ppt)

• A well-designed American car did not sell well in Japan because the chassis was just an inch too long for the standard parking space available at most Japanese commercial garages. (Quality Function Deployment website, www.qfdi.org)

• A TV commercial boasted about the temperature-sensitive washing power of a brand new laundry detergent, also developed by a well respected American company. The only problem was that at the time, in many traditional Japanese homes, laundry machines were hooked to cold water only; thus, the feature did not make sense to consumers in that particular market. (Quality Function Deployment website, www.qfdi.org)
  

• A leading U.S. golf ball manufacturer targeted Japan as an important new market by virtue of the expanding popularity of golf in that nation.  Ironically, special packaging in sets of four was developed for export, although golf balls are generally packaged in sets of three, six or 12 for domestic consumption. The company's sales were well below anticipated volume.  Research eventually targeted packaging in fours as a primary factor for lagging sales.  Four is the number of death in Japan. (Business America, Dec 3, 1979;2, 000025; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 2 "Adapting export packaging to cultural differences")
  

• Coca-Cola tried marketing its domestically successful two liter bottle in Spain. It finally withdrew the bottle from the Spanish market when it discovered that the refrigerator compartments were too small to hold the liter size. (eBook "How to Localize Products for Success in Foreign Markets" by Silk Road Communications.)
  

• A major soapmaker test marketed a soap name in 50 countries, and what it found was enough to make them change the name. The proposed name meant "dainty" in most European languages, "song" in Gaelic, "aloof" in Flemish, "horse" in one African language, "dim-witted" in Persian, "crazy" in Korean, and was obscene in Slavic languages" (Silk Road Communications eBook)
  

• A cologne for men pictured a pastoral scene with a man and his dog. Where it was marketed in Islamic North Africa a dog is considered unclean and a sign of bad luck. (Silk Road Communications eBook)
  

• McDonald's received many complaints from local authorities in 1988 when it displayed the Mexican national flag on its placemats. The Mexicans were offended by grease and ketchup defacing their national symbol and quickly confiscated the placemats.  (Silk Road Communications eBook)
  

• [Chevy] Nova had to be renamed in Spain, after problems with translation led to disappointing sales. After launching the car under it's original brand name, it later transpired that 'nova' meant 'no-go' or 'it won't go' in Spanish!  (Business Link West Yorkshire website, www.blwy.co.uk)
  

• When Pepsi began marketing it's products in China, they were using a slogan that read "Pepsi Brings You Back to Life". Translated into Chinese however, the slogan meant, "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave" (Business Link West Yorkshire website, www.blwy.co.uk)
  

• "When Nike learned that this stylized "Air" logo resembled "Allah" in Arabic script, it apologized and pulled the shoes from distribution."

(Source: mgtclass.mgt.unm.edu/mids/shul/ PowerPoints%20ch15/armstrong15_media.ppt)

• The case of Kellogg, the U.S. cereals giant, demonstrates that it is not only local competitors who can sense the need for mass marketing and deliver it. Kellogg, lured by the prospect of a billion breakfast eaters, ventured into India in the mid-1990s. Like many of its counterparts, Kellogg's market entry strategy proved unsuccessful, and, after three years in the market, sales stood at an unimpressive $10 million.  Most consumers either prepared breakfast from scratch every morning or grabbed some biscuits with tea at a roadside tea stall.  Eventually, Kellogg realigned its marketing to suit local market conditions: the company introduced a range of breakfast biscuits under the Chocos brand name. (The Mirage of Global Markets: How Globalizing Companies Can Succeed as Markets Localize, by David Arnold)
  

• Campbell's Soups initially failed with their condensed soup concept in the UK. Consumers hadn't heard of the concept so they saw the smaller tins and assumed they were getting less for their money. (Business Link West Yorkshire website, www.blwy.co.uk)
  

• Maxwell House had little success introducing its brand of instant coffee to France. The French generally take their coffee seriously and are prepared to spend time making 'real' coffee. Instant coffee just doesn't fit with French tastes and habits and is seen as inferior.  (Business Link West Yorkshire website, www.blwy.co.uk)