Sunday, November 27, 2005

Vodafone in Japan



The Vodafone shop in Monzennakacho near my hotel was very lively this Sunday afternoon, somewhat surprising for a brand which is struggling. The lifesize cutout of some popstar (unknown to me) in the shop window bears a clever marketing pun. The text reads "Vodafone crosses borders," but the word "borders" is rendered in a Japanized English rather than the native word. This comes out as "bōdaa," which sounds like the first two syllables of the Japanese pronunciation of the company name, i.e., "Bōdafōn."

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