'Hello, death': Coca-Cola's use of English and Māori on vending machine backfires
An attempt by Coca-Cola to combine English and Māori backfired after one of its vending machines in New Zealand went viral for inadvertently writing “Hello, death”.
The world’s largest beverage maker got an unexpected result when they tried to appeal to the country’s indigenous people on a vending machine stocked full of Coca-Cola.
Attempting to use New Zealand’s native tongue, the company wrote “Kia ora, mate” on the vending machine, which unfortunately translates into Māori as “Hello, death.”
“Mate” means “dead, deceased or killed” in Māori, although the word is regularly used by English-speaking New Zealanders as a term of endearment or greeting.
When the languages don't mix well. pic.twitter.com/3piZIoptAE
— Waikato Reo (@waikatoreo) October 14, 2018
The company was mocked for its mistake online after a picture of the vending machine went viral, with some calling it “ironic” and others saying “man, that sugar stuff is bad”.
“Someone caught [it] and said, 'ahhh, just change the font colour, it’ll be fine',” one wrote.
“Kia ora mate, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again,” another mocked on Twitter.
Coca Cola decided to write “KIA ORA, MATE” on the vending machine.
Directly translated, mate, pronounced “ma-tay”, means “dead, deceased or killed”— meaning the grim message on the machine stunned Māori speakers who made their way over to pick up a bottle of the good stuff.— 原諒我就是這樣的女生 (@k_r_n_o) October 15, 2018
Putting aside the failure to recognise the meaning of 'mate' in te reo Māori, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "kia ora, mate" when speaking in te reo Pākehā. It sounds like trying too hard.
— Copy and Content New Zealand (@surayacasey) October 15, 2018
It’s quite funny when you understand it, but fortunately for Coke only a small percentage of people will actually understand it!
— Edwin Hermann (@edwinhermann) October 15, 2018
Or totally spot on it does mean deaths for a lot of indigenous people
— karen lindsay (@karenlindsay6) October 14, 2018
The vending machine was spotted in Auckland International Airport by Gareth Seymour, who told NITV News: “I read it with Māori eyes and thought ‘they haven’t had this checked by a Māori’.”
He said that an increasing amount of big businesses are trying to adopt Māori, with Google launching a Māori version of its website and a Māori Moana being released by Disney.
Speaking to NITV News, Coca-Cola Amatil NZ said the two words shown on the vending machine were only meant to bring the two languages together.
The statement said: “In no way was the ‘mate’ in reference to any Māori word, that would have been inappropriate and unacceptable.
“Coca-Cola Amatil New Zealand is proudly Kiwi and respects and embraces all aspects of Māori culture and any other culture.”