I am a ... jelly donut?

The worst thing you can do when you are crossing borders is to cross up your audience. As they say, you can run, but you can't hide.

“All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner."

Along with President Reagan’s “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” nearly a quarter century later, the last four of these words remain the most famous uttered by an American president on German soil.

The words had come courtesy of President Kennedy from the steps of Rathaus Schöneberg, the city hall of what was then West Berlin. The Berlin Wall had been erected just two years before, dividing the city into east and west and rendering it the global symbol for the epic Cold War struggle of freedom vs. communism. More than 100,000 cheered wildly as the words bounced off the walls throughout the square, the American flags and JFK’s hair waving in the breeze.

Kennedy could never have known that five months later he would be dead. Nor could he – not to mention his speechwriters – have ever envisioned what would become of his famous words.

A jelly – yes – donut

I thought of the speech last month as I stood in the very spot in which JFK had stood when he spoke these words so very long ago. My son and I were in Berlin as part of a 10-day trip through Europe. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us, and the best part for me was experiencing my son’s wonder at seeing Europe for the first time. I will cherish our time there forever.

My own wonder? It is at the continuing debate about what Kennedy’s last four words had meant. Most agree that Kennedy had correctly said Ich bin ein Berliner. Meaning that he was, in essence, a spiritual citizen of Berlin. But that’s where the debate gets interesting. An urban myth eventually took shape around the word “ein.” The story goes that by including it, Kennedy changed the meaning of the sentence from the intended "I am a citizen of Berlin" to "I am a Berliner" – a Berliner being a popular German pastry. The myth is exactly that – a myth. But we all understand what happens when something enters popular culture. You want a souvenir of your time in Berlin? The Ich bin ein Berliner options featuring a jelly donut are as plentiful as those featuring the president himself.

It is hard to market and communicate. It is even harder to market and communicate across borders. As the world has shrunk over time, more campaigns are seen by people who speak differently. By people who interpret differently. By people who live in cultures that are just … different. That is a good thing. But it means the bar is raised for those who craft copy and choose images that will be seen around the world. Especially if you are crafting copy. Why? Images are much more easily transferrable.

All the world is indeed a stage

There have been countless examples of international marketing gone awry. The standard bearer has long been the Chevy Nova. When Chevrolet went to launch the car in Mexico, the fact that the car was named the Nova did not go over well. What does “Nova” mean in Spanish? Doesn’t go. Not exactly good mojo for a car. (You can hear more examples of international marketing missteps in our newest podcast here.)

But that one is almost too easy to pick on. How about an example of something that was deemed to be ok outside of the U.S., but was not ok in the U.S.? Take the case of a Dunkin’ Donuts ad campaign that ran a few years back in Thailand. The focus of the ad was to promote the company’s new "charcoal donut.” The problem with the ad was that it featured a model appearing in blackface. The ad had apparently not ruffled feathers in Thailand. But then the image got posted to Facebook. Which, of course, exposed the ad to a global audience. The result was that the CEO of Dunkin’ Donuts in Thailand had to apologize – followed by the U.S.-based company pulling the campaign.

The point is this: Pick your brand positioning more carefully than ever. Pick your words more carefully than ever. And, yes, pick your images more carefully than ever.

One of the many books on my reading list is “Say It Well.” It is a book by former Obama White House speechwriter Terry Szuplat. “Find Your Voice, Speak Your Mind, Inspire Any Audience” is the sub-head. The book has been sitting on my desk for a good while now. I will get to it at some point.

Standing in the spot in which Kennedy stood that June day in 1963, I wondered what it must have been like to deliver the speech. JFK had long since found his voice. He was speaking his mind – as was Reagan against some of his advisors’ wishes when he called on his Soviet counterpart to tear down the wall. They both accomplished what all speakers can only hope to do. They inspired their audience. They said it well.

If you ever get an opportunity to write words for a speaker to deliver in a far-off land. Or to craft copy or choose images as part of an international marketing and/or communications campaign. Do it well.

You do that, your blood, sweat and tears might even go down in history.

Even if you somehow end up saying someone is a jelly donut.

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