Carol Gullidge May 20, 2020:

Agree with Reuben If you are being paid royalties (i.e. a decent sum) for the slogan, then it would seem unethical to use somebody else’s idea. They would receive neither the reimbursement nor the credit for their slogan. This does not apply to ordinary linguistic KudoZ questions of course!

philgoddard May 19, 2020:

I hate customers like that.

Michael Grabczan-Grabowski May 19, 2020:

@Phil I wholeheartedly agree about the fact that all translations should be "transcreations." But I've been bitten before with an agency where I'd been a bit more creative with marketing-related translations for the relevant target audience, only to be told to be as close as possible to the original text (near literal translation), no matter how bad it sounded.

It was a bizarre experience, especially since you would think that for item descriptions going on a website, they should sound as appealing as possible for the target audience.

Long story short: not all will agree. :-p

philgoddard May 19, 2020:

As well as translation, I do English copywriting, often for major brands. There is a lot of overlap between the two. A good translator is by definition good at their native language, and therefore a potentially good copywriter.

In theory, great taglines should be chosen by committees in smoke-filled rooms at advertising agencies, but in practice they often come from people like you and me working at the kitchen table.

And I've never bought this whole idea of "transcreation" as being somehow different from translation - all translation should be transcreation.

Reuben Wright May 19, 2020:

Also agree with Carol and Barbara I agree with Carol and the discussion posts; this is not a translation term but transcreation/copywriting of a marketing slogan, and as such, does not belong on a translation term forum. The translator is expected to create a translation of the slogan's impact that will have THE SAME IMPACT/EFFECT in the target culture. I think the Asker's own translation is good, and the client is entrusting their brand's reputation to the translator's expertise. What they choose that to be worth is up to the translator and the client (usage, term, projected campaign revenue, royalties). But it would be wiser not to use another translator's work (read: any answer from this forum); that would not be very ethical given it might appear on a banner or commercial somewhere, and only the translator paid for this translation is the one who knows the reach this slogan will have.

Michael Grabczan-Grabowski May 19, 2020:

Agree with Barbara and Carol You normally get copywriters and marketing gurus that come up with the perfect slogans for these things. Now, some poor translator has to come up with something catchy and effective. We really are forced to be artistes, aren't we? It can be quite difficult and time-consuming to come up with something decent. If the brand uses your slogan, I hope you get royalties!

Your attempt ("making the ordinary extraordinary") isn't bad, but I can't help but feel that I've heard it thousands of times before. It's a hackneyed sentiment, albeit a nice one.

That being said, I can't say I can come up with anything great, either. ;-)

Here are some (admittedly corny) options:

"Happiness is all around you"
"Celebrate life"
"Life is a celebration"
"Stop and smell the roses" (just kidding -- except do stop and smell the roses from time to time ;-))

Barbara Cochran, MFA May 19, 2020:

Agree With Carol Just one more instance where a translator is relegated to secondary, if any status at all, in exchange for their efforts.

Carol Gullidge May 19, 2020:

@ Nicholas It always makes me feel uncomfortable when I see slogans being requested on KudoZ. As a fellow ProZer once pointed out, copywriting should command large sums, and I wonder how the actual provider of the chosen Answer would feel if they saw their own slogan being used by some major brand whilst receiving no recognition

Barbara Cochran, MFA May 19, 2020:

Glass Of Wine In Good Company ...isn't the vast majority of people, IMO.

philgoddard May 19, 2020:

It will make sense to the vast majority of people.

Barbara Cochran, MFA May 19, 2020:

I Like Your Own Option I don't think a literal interpretation makes sense in this case, because this is marketing copy, which requires creative copywriting.

philgoddard May 19, 2020:

A literal translation works well Make the everyday sublime.