The devaluation of the US dollar has been disappointing, but now I see that the English language may also be losing its value abroad. DW has an amusing report about the move to more native phrasing in German advertising:

One reason for this shift is purely practical. While even native speakers struggle with the double negatives of Adidas’ promise that “Impossible is Nothing,” a study commissioned last year by advertising agency Endmark revealed that Germans respond to most English-language claims with sheer bewilderment.

Faced with a dozen Anglicisms, only one-third of those questioned in the survey actually knew what the slogans meant. Few grasped the point of “Come In and Find Out,” the ubiquitous promotion for the Douglas cosmetics chain. Most consumers, it emerged, thought they were being invited to enter a store and then find the nearest exit.

Would the same group express sheer bewilderment at the logos as well? Does it really matter if they truly understand the phrase or icons if it registers a positive sentiment or simply serves as an identity? I thought that was the point of marketing, not to connect on a more meaningful level.

What does Douglas mean? What does Adidas mean, for that matter? Or more to the point, should anyone really care if they want to buy the product sold under a particular identity? Differentiation is key, according to Businessweek.

It has been permanent jurisdiction in German courts since the 1970s that two, three and four stripe designs infringe adidas’ three stripe trademark. The distinctive mark enjoys a worldwide brand awareness of more than 90 percent. According to the German Federal Court of Justice, the public recalls and recognizes such well-known and distinctive brands rather than un-established marks. It is therefore likely that consumers associate and confuse signs with two, three or four parallel stripes with the adidas trademark.

The objection that the questionable stripe motifs are not used as trademarks, but merely for embellishment or decoration, is negligible. This is because the consumer is accustomed to view parallel stripes on apparel and shoes as evidence of origin and not as a simple design motif.

Ninety percent? That’s impressive, but does anyone really know what the stripes mean? I guess the issue really is that English is no longer seen as sexy or cool enough to move product on its own. Not clear if that’s because of association (e.g. Bush deflating the value) or just a trend, but chances are that its both.