Waikato Times

‘Hello, death’: Coca-Cola blunders in te reo

- Susan Edmunds

What Coca-Cola Amatil might have thought was a harmless Kiwi greeting has turned into an embarrassi­ng publicrela­tions blunder.

The beverage manufactur­er has run signage around the country that reads: ‘‘Kia ora, mate.’’

But mate is the te reo Ma¯ ori word for ‘‘death’’ or ‘‘dead’’.

Communicat­ions expert Cas Carter said it showed the multinatio­nal company had not bothered to take the time to research or to seek local guidance.

‘‘There is a growing trend among internatio­nal companies to try and reflect local culture in their marketing. Done well, it is awesome; done poorly, it is a major risk,’’ she said.

‘‘The blunder is even greater because ‘mate’ is such a well-known Ma¯ ori word because it is in our most well-known haka – which has been seen all over the world.’’

Social media users have pointed out the irony in a soft drink company using the phrase.

‘‘Coca-Cola is not the healthiest drink so saying, ‘Hello, death,’ looks like they’re ’fessing up how unhealthy the drink really is,’’ Carter said.

She said the blunder was unlikely to affect the company’s bottom line.

University of Auckland Business School head of marketing Bodo Lang said cross-cultural mistakes in marketing and advertisin­g were more common than people realised.

‘‘One of the easy ways to avoid such blunders is to enlist the help of profession­al translator or a cultural consultant. Incurring such a small upfront cost is typically worth it because it prevents having to deal with bigger issues later on and dealing with disappoint­ed customers through the various touch points that global brands have.’’

Coca-Cola Amatil has been contacted for comment.

 ??  ?? What Coca-Cola might have thought was a harmless Kiwi greeting has backfired.
What Coca-Cola might have thought was a harmless Kiwi greeting has backfired.

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