Saturday, September 06, 2008

Czech EU slogan hits a sour note

The Czech government has unveiled a new PR campaign to raise awareness of the country's forthcoming presidency of the European Union. The campaign revolves around the sugar cube - a Czech invention - and includes a seemingly innocent slogan.

But the phrase is highly ambiguous in Czech, and has left critics wondering what the government is trying to say. The government has defended the campaign which is now running on TV screens and billboards.

In it, a handful of Czech celebrities - including the Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech - sit around a table and do amusing things with sugar cubes.



Accompanying the images is a slogan that translates literally as "we'll make things sweeter for Europe". It's a nice phrase, and it goes perfectly with the pictures. But the problem is it also has another meaning.

Translators suggested the most accurate rendition would be "we'll give Europe a taste of its own medicine".

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek admitted the phrase was ambiguous, but said it was clear from the images that it was meant in a positive way.

No comments: