Woodpeckers

Dan Kohn (dan@teledesic.com)
Wed, 6 Nov 1996 11:34:59 -0800


>>From EE Times, October 8, 1996

>Matsushita Electric is promoting a new Japanese PC targeted at the
>Internet. Panasonic, a subsidiary of Matsushita, has developed a
>complete
>Japanese Web browser, and to make the system "user-friendly", licensed
>the
>cartoon character "Woody Woodpecker" as the "Internet guide." Panasonic
>
>eventually planned on a world version of the product.
>
>A huge marketing campaign was to have introduced the product in Japan
>last
>week. The day before the ads were to be released, Panasonic suddenly
>pulled
>back and delayed the product launch indefinitely. The reason: the ads
>featured the slogan "Touch Woody - The Internet Pecker." An American
>staff
>member at the internal product launch explained to the stunned and
>embarrassed
>Japanese what "touch woody" and "pecker" meant in American slang.
>
>