# Who are the marketing geniuses that came up with this one? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 19, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264 "2013-09-19T20:55:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/1 "2013-09-19T20:55:26Z")
> **[Edmonton Journal](https://edmontonjournal.com/)** > > Read latest breaking news, updates, and headlines. Edmonton Journal offers information on latest national and international events & more. I’m actually having trouble believing this isn’t some kind of hoax. It really didn’t occur to anybody that “retard” and “douche” have completely different meanings in English than they do in French? ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/2 "2013-09-19T21:23:04Z")
> [@MrSquishy](#): > > I’m actually having trouble believing this isn’t some kind of hoax. It really didn’t occur to anybody that “retard” and “douche” have completely different meanings in English than they do in French? I could see how it could happen as an unexpected collision between the promotion and Canada’s bilingual labeling rules. The two words were never meant to be read together – just one word for the Anglophones and another for the Francophones. Most of the time people would read the word for their favoured language and ignore the other. So they didn’t think about what would happen if they _were_ read together and by happenstance they made sense together. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/3 "2013-09-19T21:31:12Z")
That’s probably true, the article mentions that the word lists were approved separately. But I’m surprised the person who approved the French list didn’t think “is it a good idea to have ‘retard’ and ‘douche’ on this list?”. Whether they’re paired with an English word or not, Anglophones are going to see them. And when I see the word “retard” my first thought isn’t “oh, that just means ‘late’ in French, perfectly harmless”. P.S. I have a nagging suspicion there is a grammatical error in the title of the thread… ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/4 "2013-09-20T12:35:52Z")
> [@MrSquishy](#): > > And when I see the word “retard” my first thought isn’t “oh, that just means ‘late’ in French, perfectly harmless”. It’s actually a verb (“to delay”), rather than an adjective (“late”). It’s the same in English, too. When dealing with internal combustion engines, we speak of retarding or advancing the spark to describe the timing of ignition relative to piston movement. Heck, that’s why it was used to describe people afflicted with Trisomy 21: they were “mentally retarded,” literally of slow mind. “Retard” as a noun in English didn’t become offensive until people started using it as an insult. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/5 "2013-09-20T14:50:02Z")
But why was that lady drinking her sister’s coke? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/6 "2013-09-20T15:06:58Z")
Under what context was the phrase “You Retard” intended? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/7 "2013-09-20T16:29:40Z")
Well, to be fair, the dude _was_ drinking “Vitamin Water”. Sometimes you gotta call it like you see it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/8 "2013-09-20T16:30:26Z")
That’s hilarious! If I were in Canada, I’d be going out and buying all the bottles I could find now, hoping to get one that said “YOU RETARD” or “YOU DOUCHE.” What a brilliant marketing campaign! ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/9 "2013-09-20T17:28:28Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Under what context was the phrase “You Retard” intended? > [@TFA](#): > > Shannon Denny, director of brand communications with Coca-Cola Refreshments Canada, said consumers were supposed to collect the caps to combine words into humorous sentences. > > Anglophones would use the English words and Francophones would use the French ones, she explained. … ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/10 "2013-09-20T17:58:59Z")
I’d say the cap nailed it. She looks kind of retarded. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/11 "2013-09-20T18:17:24Z")
This is especially baffling in that the Francophone who approved the list was presumably from Quebec, a place which deals with English every day, where English speakers are fairly common, and where everyone needs to know at least some English. Such a person really ought to know about those words that mean different things in English and French. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/12 "2013-09-20T18:20:17Z")
I believed them until it turned out the word “douche” was paired with “bup is a” in the “douche” caps. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/13 "2013-09-20T18:42:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This is especially baffling in that the Francophone who approved the list was presumably from Quebec, a place which deals with English every day, where English speakers are fairly common, and where everyone needs to know at least some English. Such a person really ought to know about those words that mean different things in English and French. 😕 It’s possible to spend an entire lifetime in Quebec and never use (or need to use) a word of English. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/14 "2013-09-20T18:47:16Z")
Could this happen in reverse? What common English words are offensive in other languages? Like if it said “Vous Bundle”, but Bundle meant something offensive in French. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/15 "2013-09-20T19:28:25Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > Could this happen in reverse? What common English words are offensive in other languages? Like if it said “Vous Bundle”, but Bundle meant something offensive in French. Yeah, good point. I guess if I was the guy proofreading the English words, an English word that has some offensive meaning in French might wind up on there, and I, knowing only highschool French, would be oblivious. For all I know, “bundle” or “hot dog” or “telephone” or “frog” are horrible insults in Trois-Rivières or Baie-Comeau. I guess maybe it’s just a bad idea for a promotion in general. What if there were no words on the list that you would ever think would be considered offensive in isolation, but when you put them together you get something that’s going to upset someone? E.g. what if somebody in Lac-Mégantic got a cap that said “train flambée”? ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/16 "2013-09-20T19:30:54Z")
Anyone offended by this is a retarded douche. Ha ha, as an English teacher this story amuses the hell out of me. The bottler should give rewards for the most offensive bottle tops. I imagine kids would love it and adults would grow up a little and realise they _personally_ weren’t being offended. It’s like being offended because someone in a movie or book uses a swear word. Come on, people! It’s just words written on a consumable item, not your partner’s diary! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/17 "2013-09-20T19:43:14Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > That’s hilarious! If I were in Canada, I admit, maybe it’s my juvenile sense of humor, but I’ve literally got tears streaming down my face from the absurdity of finding a message that says “YOU RETARD” on the bottle cap of Vitaminwater. And seeing a video of it just nailed it for me. Anyhow, it’s a weird campaign. I was trying to figure out why there was supposed to be one word in English and one word in French that don’t correspond to each other, but apparently, it’s like a – I don’t know – one of those magnetic poetry kind of things where you have random words and make phrases out of them? At least that’s what the article says. I don’t get why anybody would bother to do that (unless there’s some kind of contest involved), or why Coca-Cola just wouldn’t use the same words in English and French instead of scrambling both vocabulary sets, but I’m not a marketing genius. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/18 "2013-09-20T19:57:14Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > It’s actually a verb (“to delay”), rather than an adjective (“late”). It’s the same in English, too. When dealing with internal combustion engines, we speak of retarding or advancing the spark to describe the timing of ignition relative to piston movement. Heck, that’s why it was used to describe people afflicted with Trisomy 21: they were “mentally retarded,” literally of slow mind. I believe it is only used that way as part of the idiom “en retard” which means “late”. (I think “retarder” is a verb, but unless I am mistaken, no correct conjugation of that verb is just “retard”. Closest would be “il retarde”. Can anyone confirm?) “En Retard” is such a common idiom, that I doubt anyone who primarily spoke French would think of the English meaning at all. I know I giggled like an immature schoolboy when I learned it (because I _was_ an immature schoolboy), but it’s only funny so many times before you stop noticing it. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/19 "2013-09-20T21:29:31Z")
Quote: Originally Posted by **Mr. Squishy** For all I know, “bundle” or “hot dog” or “telephone” or “frog” are horrible insults in Trois-Rivières or Baie-Comeau. Question for Canadopers. How would “Vous Frog” go over in Quebec? ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264/20 "2013-09-20T21:51:20Z")
People really need to get a life. The dad is having trouble dealing with it? Maybe spending a few weeks volunteering on a children’s cancer ward will give him some perspective. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-marketing-geniuses-that-came-up-with-this-one/669264.md?page=2)