19.07.10 "Problem? Call the A-Team" Kottbusser Brücke, Kreuzberg, Berlin
22.07.10 Warschauerstr. Friedrichshain, Berlin
Showing posts with label Department of Useless Translations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Department of Useless Translations. Show all posts
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Das A-Team, busted
19.07.10 "Problem? Call the A-Team" Kottbusser Brücke, Kreuzberg, Berlin
22.07.10 Warschauerstr. Friedrichshain, Berlin
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Proofreading prevents "oilseed rape"
28.04.10 Raps translated as "oilseed rape, " Internationale Bauausstellung Stadtumbau Sachsen-Anhalt 2010, Dessau
Sunday, July 4, 2010
El Bocho am Alex (with modifications)
03.07.10 "So many presents and so few people" Dircksenstr. Mitte, Berlin
one week later...
Saturday, June 26, 2010
not available for screenprinting on t-shirts
24.05.10 "We are not for sale" Liebigstr. Friedrichshain, Berlin.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Nazis will be stickered over.
28.04.10 Fritz-Hesse Str. Dessau
"Nazi propaganda will be covered with stickers here"
Monday, January 11, 2010
Friday, January 23, 2009
Strand (bags) by the Spree
The Effective Viral Advertising Society presents:
STRAND tote bags are everywhere on the streets of New York, broadcasting the huge bookstore with an ubiquitous oval brand. Hipsters, grandmas and pretty much everyone else haul their groceries in the black original or one of its many-colored descendants.
But the following account details sightings in BERLIN—the capital of GERMANY, and approximately 4,000 miles from Manhattan—in the first three weeks of January 2009:
1. January 2nd, on the U2 subway going from Kurfürstendamm to Berliner Str.
2. January 7th, on the M10 tram going from Bernauer Str. to Eberswalder Str.
3. January 13th, in the Ordnungsamt Neukölln (an office for registering trades, among other things).
4. January 14th, waiting for the bus in Wildenbruchplatz.
5. January 22nd, outside of the Rathaus (city hall) in Neukölln.
Unfortunately the Strand Tote bag does not come in a German version. Sounds like a job for...!
The Department of Useless Translations:
Neu York Stadt
STRAND
18 Meilen der Bücher
New York City
BEACH
18 Miles of Books
yes, STRAND means BEACH in German.
STRAND tote bags are everywhere on the streets of New York, broadcasting the huge bookstore with an ubiquitous oval brand. Hipsters, grandmas and pretty much everyone else haul their groceries in the black original or one of its many-colored descendants.
But the following account details sightings in BERLIN—the capital of GERMANY, and approximately 4,000 miles from Manhattan—in the first three weeks of January 2009:
1. January 2nd, on the U2 subway going from Kurfürstendamm to Berliner Str.
2. January 7th, on the M10 tram going from Bernauer Str. to Eberswalder Str.
3. January 13th, in the Ordnungsamt Neukölln (an office for registering trades, among other things).
4. January 14th, waiting for the bus in Wildenbruchplatz.
5. January 22nd, outside of the Rathaus (city hall) in Neukölln.
Unfortunately the Strand Tote bag does not come in a German version. Sounds like a job for...!The Department of Useless Translations:
Neu York Stadt
STRAND
18 Meilen der Bücher
New York City
BEACH
18 Miles of Books
yes, STRAND means BEACH in German.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Only God Stops Graffiti
On the wall of the Rathaus Neukölln U7 subway stop during the first week of the new year:
Two weeks later it was gone (and photos were taken with flash!—administrative apologies for poor camera):
Berlin's police graffiti-clean-up squad clearly must be God.
p.s. Now the most colorful part of the wall is:
From the Department of Useless Translations:
(in the star box exploding toward britney)
Heiße Geschenke für kalte Zeiten
"Hot presents for cold times"
Also notice the various types of pouty lips expressed.
This advertisement was summarily graffiti-fied elsewhere in Berlin, and the photo's on jezebel— http://jezebel.com/5132824/feminist-vandal-defaces-berlin
Two weeks later it was gone (and photos were taken with flash!—administrative apologies for poor camera):
Berlin's police graffiti-clean-up squad clearly must be God.
p.s. Now the most colorful part of the wall is:
From the Department of Useless Translations:
(in the star box exploding toward britney)
Heiße Geschenke für kalte Zeiten
"Hot presents for cold times"
Also notice the various types of pouty lips expressed.
This advertisement was summarily graffiti-fied elsewhere in Berlin, and the photo's on jezebel— http://jezebel.com/5132824/
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Healthy lungs buy tickets for the subway
Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station and the new German site-specific ad campaign for nicorette anti-smoking inhalers:Damit Ihre Lunge nicht mehr schwarzfahren muss. “So your lungs don’t have to go black any more.”
Schwarzfahren literally translates as “to go black;” however, it is most commonly used to signify riding public transit illegally, i.e. taking the S-Bahn without a valid ticket.
Therefore, a second translation: “So your lungs don’t have to ride illegally any more.”
Apparently the inhaler also functions as a public transit ticket for lungs.
P.S.
From the Department of Useless Translations: Lindert Ihr Rauchverlangen und beschäftigt die Hände. “Alleviates your smoking cravings and keeps your hands busy.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
