Translation of brands: piece of cake?

We all enjoy getting a bargain. This Lidl advert certainly promises one or more:

But how do you translate it into another language, with the intended pun of “little” and “Lidl” in English? If you are after a translation bargain, I think you may realise that the slogan translation will cost you more that a few pennies: it won't be based on the wordcount so no bargain to be had here. Foreign branding is serious lengthy work which requires fresh ideas, creativity and many discussions with the client.

Lidl has only just registered the trademark at the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property and has no stores yet, but I have had a go at translating their motto into Russian, coming up with two versions:

* Lidl = высокое качество + умеренные цены (Lidl = high quality + reasonable pricing), using addition instead of the division mathematical formula in the image; and

* Высокое качество по доступной цене от Lidl (High quality at affordable prices from Lidl)

Let’s take another brand – John Deere construction equipment we see a lot of on country roads. Its eloquent slogan reads: “Nothing runs like a Deere”

Another pun intended and the Russian for “deer” sounds nothing like “Deere”. John Deere has a presence in Russia and a localised website, however, I could not find this slogan mentioned anywhere. Translating it would certainly be a challenge, perhaps something along these lines would sound true to the essence: “Дир мчится, как олень” (Deere runs like a deer). That way the deer comparison is intact.

Not all brands require translation as some are specific to the local market, for example. The London Underground is not going to take us to international destinations, although some of the instructions on how to use the Tube may have already been translated.

“Piece of cake”? Well, in Russian one equivalent phrase is “Семечки” (Seeds). Perhaps a way to deal with the pie-like logo in this poster is to change it for a round cake with seeds and replace the crumbs with almonds in the image.

Whatever the cake type, brand translation is certainly far from being a piece of cake; more like a tough nut to crack!

Yelena McCafferty

Director of Talk Russian Ltd (Translation and Interpreting)

www.talkrussian.com

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