Tuesday, November 29, 2011

In recent issue of GQ magazine (US edition), I came across this ad for The Art of Shaving:



The Chinese translation of "The Ambassador of Smooth" as 平稳大使 is contextually incorrect.

平稳 refers to stability, not related to physical surface condition, which shaving is about. Nor the American English slang usage of "smooth" in terms of finesse.

平稳大使 would be better suited as ad slogan for a physical therapy clinic, than hawking male grooming products.
at

2 comments:

  1. vegetarianDecember 10, 2011 at 8:58 AM

    so what do you so for the ambassador of smooth in chinese?
    may we say 平滑大使？
    but I think 大使 is not correct in this condition too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SteveMarch 11, 2012 at 8:35 AM

    Oh my, I first read 大使 as 大便. Whoops!

    ReplyDelete