Oh, mon dieu. Petite bites means "little dicks."
Leave it to a set of skilled brand developers to screw up and make our neighbors across the pond in France laugh hysterically at us.
Those stupid Americans, they probably thought.
Yep. Right they are. Because much to your likely surprise, this ad is for little quiches sold in the frozen-food aisle at local grocery stores. It is not for a French penis-enlargement drug and not for a new "small is in" campaign in France.
We came across this hilarious case of lost-in-translation while recently Skyping with a French-Canadian friend living in Brussels.
He told us the ad is all the rage not only in France but also in French-speaking countries across Europe. He pointed out that not only does the literal translation mean "little dicks [big compliments]" in French slang, but also the plural grammar is incorrect.
And, yes, you could argue that in English, Petite Bites simply means "petite bites." But where's the fun in that?!
Since the big oops in 2010, the name has been changed to Petite Quiche, and that's how the product is currently labeled on boxes and the website.
The brand, Nancy's, was started by a San Francisco woman who had too many house parties to host and not enough time to worry about food for all of them. The line also carries little cheesecakes, deli spirals, and assorted hors d'oeuvres.
Publix, Costco, and Target all carry Nancy's petite bites. Luckily, they come in a variety of quantities (12 count up to 72 count) in case one serving doesn't fill you up. Ba-dum-tss!
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