N.B. This writeup is about language and translation, and will be unashamedly English-centric. Pardon me.

In Canada, the popular chocolate sweet, Smarties, are marketed by two cartoon chimps, who appear on the boxes and presumably in the other marketing material that surrounds the product.

The two chimps are known as Bob and Einstein. I'm guessing, by dint of the names, that Bob is an amusing simpleton, and Einstein is the boffin-type brainiac. This is the association that the two names bring to my English speaking (and thinking?) mind.

Canada is a bilingual nation, in which anything and everything appears in both English and French. Therefore our two chimps have francophone alter-egos. One might expect these to be called Robert and Einstein, too. But apparently this would not have the desired resonance in French-speaking Canada; for they are called "Robert et Pasteur".

It seems quite petty to rename one from Einstein (who was, after all, not from an English-speaking region) to another notable scientist, just because Louis Pasteur was French. I guess these marketeers know what they're doing, though.


Source: http://www.brunching.com/ratings/canadiansnacks.html

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