Brand blunder refers to the goof ups associated with the branding of a product, especially a new product in a new market. There could be many reasons for such slips. For example, the lack of understanding of the language, culture, consumer attitude etc.

There are numerous examples of brand blunders in the marketing history; there are also numerous urban legends surrounding brand blunders, where there is little evidence of an actual blunder.

True cases

• Honda : In 2001, Honda intended to release an automobile known as the Fit in Asian markets as the Honda Fitta on the European market. However, in Swedish and Norwegian, fitta is a crude reference to female genitalia, and the vehicle was rebranded Honda Jazz.
• McDonald's : In January 2005, McDonald's published banners proclaiming Double cheeseburger? I'd Hit It. In this obvious blunder, the copywriters mistook the strictly sexual slang expression for a term of general appraisal.