McDonald’s China changed its business name, and consumers aren’t lovin’ it.
麥當(dāng)勞(中國)有限公司近日更改名稱,然而新名稱似乎并不討消費(fèi)者喜歡。
Chinese media reported on Wednesday evening that McDonald’s Chinese business changed its company’s name from Maidanglao, a loose transliteration of the English name, to Jingongmen, or Golden Arches, on Oct. 12.
中國媒體周三晚報道說,麥當(dāng)勞(中國)有限公司已于10月12日將名稱更改為金拱門(中國)有限公司。原名“麥當(dāng)勞”是對品牌名稱的大致音譯。
Although the fast food chain reassured its fans on its Weibo microblog that stores in China will still bear the old name, the new moniker was immediately ridiculed by net users for sounding unsophisticated.
盡管該快餐連鎖公司在新浪微博上向其粉絲保證中國的門店不會改名,但新名稱還是因為聽起來太“土”而遭到網(wǎng)友嘲笑。
一些網(wǎng)友表示,“金拱門”這個名字甚至比“漢堡王”還要接地氣,很有點“中華老字號”的感覺。但也有網(wǎng)友表示很難接受,以后要改口說“我們?nèi)コ越鸸伴T”吧!
“Jingongmen sounds like a name for a Peking duck restaurant or a traditional Chinese medicine store,” one Weibo user wrote.
一位微博網(wǎng)友寫道:“金拱門聽起來像是北京烤鴨店或者中藥店鋪的名字。”
“‘金拱門’聽起來還沒有咱們“沙縣國際”洋氣,怎么配得起麥當(dāng)勞叔叔的身份和段位?”
“‘金拱門’一開,樂得那位長期屈居城中村的青年華萊士都要開香檳慶祝了:這回名字總算比金拱門大表哥高級了吧?”
網(wǎng)友P圖
一大波調(diào)侃根本停不下來……
還有網(wǎng)友建議菜單也改名吧!
一聽就咬不動啊……
Picking a Chinese name can be tricky for foreign brands. US home-sharing company Airbnb earlier this year chose “Aibiying,” or “welcome each other with love,” for its Chinese operations, but the name was badly received for being difficult to pronounce. Last month, NBA team Dallas Mavericks asked its fans to come up with a new Chinese name because the current xiaoniu is a mistranslation, meaning “little cows.”
選擇一個中國名稱對一些外國品牌來說很傷腦筋。美國的共享住宿公司Airbnb今年早些時候為其中國業(yè)務(wù)選擇了“愛彼迎”這一名稱,意思是“用愛歡迎彼此”,但因為發(fā)音拗口遭人嫌棄。上個月,美國職業(yè)籃球聯(lián)賽達(dá)拉斯小牛隊請粉絲們?yōu)樗麄兿胍粋€新隊名,因為“小牛隊”其實是個誤譯。
麥當(dāng)勞(中國)為什么要改名呢?
麥當(dāng)勞回應(yīng)稱,麥當(dāng)勞與中信及凱雷成為戰(zhàn)略合作伙伴后,因業(yè)務(wù)發(fā)展需要,自2017年10月12日起,麥當(dāng)勞中國總部的企業(yè)名稱變更為“金拱門(中國)有限公司”。
McDonald’s low-key name change came after the fast food chain sold the bulk of its Chinese mainland and Hong Kong business to financial conglomerate CITIC Group and American investment company Carlyle Capital in January.
在麥當(dāng)勞(中國)有限公司低調(diào)改名前,該公司已于今年1月將其中國大陸和香港的大部分業(yè)務(wù)出售給中信集團(tuán)和美國投資公司凱雷資本。
McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in China in 1990, and the brand, closely associated with a Western lifestyle, took off. Long lines formed whenever a new location opened. However, in recent years the fast food chain has struggled to maintain its growth momentum in China as more prosperous, health-conscious consumers seek alternative dining options.
麥當(dāng)勞于1990年在中國開設(shè)首家門店,生意迅速火爆起來,其品牌與西方生活方式緊密相連。每當(dāng)有新店開業(yè),門前總會排起長隊。但近年來,中國消費(fèi)者越來越富裕,也越來越有健康意識,就餐選擇更多樣化,麥當(dāng)勞保持在中國的發(fā)展勢頭也開始困難起來。
“金拱門”的正確打開方式
麥當(dāng)勞為何更名金拱門?網(wǎng)友和媒體給出了幾種解釋。
第一種解釋:麥當(dāng)勞金色拱門形狀的標(biāo)志在西方有個著名的昵稱——Golden Arches,直譯過來就是“金拱門”。
第二種解釋:上個世紀(jì)六十年代,麥當(dāng)勞聽取了美國心理學(xué)家路易斯·徹斯金(Louis Cheskin)的建議,使用這個金拱門作為自己的Logo。徹斯金稱,金色拱門是一種營銷策略,可以讓顧客看到這個標(biāo)志時就會想到是一對滋養(yǎng)的乳房——然后他們就餓了。
Around this period, there was discussion for a new logo for McDonald's, and design consultant Louis Cheskin convinced the company to maintain its branding with the arches.
當(dāng)時大家正討論給麥當(dāng)勞設(shè)計一個新標(biāo)志,設(shè)計顧問路易斯·徹斯金說服公司保留了原有的金色拱門品牌標(biāo)志。
Cheskin argued that the golden arches carried the 'Freudian symbolism of a pair of nourishing breasts,' the BBC reported.
據(jù)BBC報道,徹斯金建議說,金拱門“在弗洛伊德學(xué)說中象征著一對有營養(yǎng)的乳房。”
In this time period, the effects of Freudian theory were still reshaping the world and Cheskin's view is a deeply Freudian concept.
在當(dāng)時,弗洛伊德學(xué)說的影響仍在重塑著世界,徹斯金的意見深受弗洛伊德學(xué)說的影響。
還有網(wǎng)友考證,“金拱門”之名其實來源于西方的一個童話傳說:故事說的是有一個紅衣老人,每到冬天就騎著馴鹿穿過金拱門,來到每家每戶為孩子帶來禮物和美食。為了紀(jì)念這個節(jié)日,西方人在金拱門前立了一個金拱碑,還有歌謠傳唱:金拱碑,金拱碑,金拱偶的胃……(注:美國圣誕歌曲《鈴兒響叮當(dāng)》英文歌詞惡搞)
麥當(dāng)勞改名之后,網(wǎng)友們紛紛大開腦洞,給各大洋品牌改名:
今天下班,同事會不會沖你喊:“走,今天去吃金拱門!”