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Translate advertisement

Translating an advertisement sounds like a walk in the park. So many visuals, so few words: how hard can it be?

But the opposite is true in many cases: the shorter the copy, the trickier the translation. Take slogans, for example. If there’s not much text, there’s not much context either, and lots of scope for interpretation. Also, advertising has a clearly defined goal: to persuade the reader to use your product or service. All the more reason to have it translated by a reliable specialist company.

What do you need to think about?

There are various things that can make it a challenge to translate advertising. The translation must obviously retain the tone and style of the source copy, so the message is expressed in the same way. Sometimes the copy has to fit the layout, so the translation can’t be much longer than the original: we have to be particularly creative when translating from English into Romance languages, which are usually much longer.

Another important aspect of translating ads is cultural differences between the source and target languages. How do you address the reader? Is it OK to use English loan words in a foreign language? And is there an equivalent expression in the language you’re translating into?

Advertise = localise

Localisation means not just translating copy, but adapting it to the culture of a country or region. This is particularly important where advertising is concerned, requiring a knowledge not only of language, but also of how people live their lives. That’s why we at The Translation Collective work exclusively with native translators, who translate only into their mother tongue, and often grew up or still live in the target country. So you can be sure that your ad will get translated properly.

Advertising translations: we can help!

One of our clients is Apenheul Primate Park in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn. We regularly translate advertising and marketing copy for them, using a fixed group of translators familiar with their tone of voice and terminology. If that’s the kind of relationship you’re looking for, contact us or request a quote below!