*CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED*
To celebrate International Translation Day (Sept. 30), we’ve come up with a transcreation challenge for you.
What’s transcreation, you ask? It’s the art of creatively translating marketing materials from one language to another. And it’s also the focus of three new courses offered as part of our FR-EN, EN-FR and EN-ES translation certificates.
So… time to get your transcreative juices flowing! Read the “client brief” below and email your best suggestion to translation.scs [at] mcgill.ca by October 7 (including your full name and a phone number where we can reach you during the day).
We will award a $25 bookstore gift card to the winning entry for each language pair.
FR-EN
Une petite chaîne de stations-service québécoise élargit son offre pour y ajouter un vaste éventail d’articles de première nécessité. « Dépannez-vous chez nous! », le slogan destiné aux médias sociaux et à la campagne publicitaire en ligne pour annoncer cette toute nouvelle stratégie, a été testé auprès de la clientèle francophone. La chaîne souhaite maintenant créer du matériel publicitaire pour Facebook, Instagram et Google Ads. La version anglaise apparaîtra en plus petits caractères sous le slogan français.
EN-FR
A Canadian distributor of eco-friendly products (batteries, lightbulbs, plumbing fixtures, etc.) has created a series of in-store displays for hardware retailers. The theme is The True North, Strong and Green. The central visual is a green maple leaf. They’d now like to create a French version for the Quebec market.
EN-ES
An American manufacturer of residential and commercial doors has come up with a somewhat racy and attention-getting slogan for all their marketing collateral. It centres around a prim elderly woman holding her hand against her cheek and looking shocked, along with the words SHUT THE FR*NT DOOR in big, bold lettering. They’d like to expand this campaign into Spanish to strengthen their brand and boost their sales in Central and South America.