Ad of the Day: Duolingo to do over dodgy mistranslated tattoos
To mark World Tattoo Day on March 21, language learning app Duolingo is offering to fix people’s mistranslated ink for free.
In the fast-paced video, created by BETC Paris and directed by Pierre Edouard Joubert, viewers are taken on a journey to a boxing match, car ride and even a sizzling barbeque before inevitably everyone ends up in the tattoo shop. Devious tattoo artists relish in the mistranslated ink and the recipients regrettably end up with tats that don’t read well at all.

Motivational quotes such as ‘courage’ in Japanese end up translating to ‘toilet demon,’ and ‘I’m free’ turns into ‘I’m for free.’

Poking fun at this, Duolingo is urging its users to tag it on social media using #TattooDuoOver with the very best of their worst body art. The lucky winners will be rewarded with a trip to Paris and the chance to get some new ink at the world-famous tattoo parlor Abraxas.

To coincide with the campaign, anybody who nominates their dodgy designs will receive a code that unlocks a free Duolingo trial for one month – maybe to ensure they won’t make the same permanent mistake in the future?