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イメージキャラクター

English translation: 'the face of ~'

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Japanese term or phrase:イメージキャラクター
English translation:'the face of ~'
Entered by: KathyT

02:13 Jun 28, 2006
Japanese to English translations [PRO]
Marketing - Advertising / Public Relations
Japanese term or phrase: イメージキャラクター
企業などの放送コマーシャルやポスター媒体の広告モデルとして起用されるタレント・俳優・モデルらのことを「（商品名・または企業名）イメージキャラクター」といいますが、この「イメージキャラクター」に当たる英語はありますか？
Mikiko
Local time: 04:02
"the face of XYZ", 'mascot', "the poster boy/girl/child for XYZ"
Explanation:
some alternatives.

"Image character" is 和製英語, so don't go with that.

For a person such as an actor, I would suggest using "<name> is the face of <company>".
"mascot" is usually used for animals, such as the bear/rooster/whatever creatures that often represent sporting teams.

Other than that, a popular expression that is more colloquial is "poster boy/girl/child." You can use "boy" or "girl" even when the actor in question is an adult. So for example, "<name> is the poster boy for XYZ Cornflakes," etc.

For a formal business presentation though, I would recommend the first option.

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Note added at 13 mins (2006-06-28 02:26:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Gwyneth Paltrow - Gwyneth Paltrow new face of Estee Lauder
Gwyneth Paltrow has replaced Elizabeth Hurley as the face of Estee Lauder. The Hollywood beauty has signed a £15million contract with the beauty giants to ...
www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/70522004.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages

David Beckham the new face of Motorola, News at CNET.co.uk
The England captain has signed up to promote the mobile phone company, beginning with an endorsement of the new red Moto Slvr, proceeds from which go to ...
news.cnet.co.uk/software/0,39029694,49277598,00.htm - 37k - 26 Jun 2006 - Cached - Similar pages

bit-tech.net | Adriano is the face of Pro Evo 6
Brazilian legend Adriano is to be the face of the latest in the footie gaming series. Prepare to see his mug everywhere come this Autumn.
www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/06/13/Adriano_is_the_face_of_Pro... - 15k - 26 Jun 2006 - Cached - Similar pages

Vogue Stories
KEIRA IS THE FACE OF CHANEL. KEIRA KNIGHTLEY is the new face of Coco Mademoiselle. The rumours circulating the French fashion house for the last two months ...
www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=34784&date... - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2006-06-28 02:29:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here are some examples of usage for "poster boy/girl."
You will see that most of the people referred to are definitely not kids.

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=o...
Selected response from:

KathyT
Australia
Local time: 05:02
Grading comment
Thanks. I think "the face" fits the best.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4"the face of XYZ", 'mascot', "the poster boy/girl/child for XYZ"
KathyT
5 +1image character or mascot
Mark Kellner
2frontman for the brand image
cinefil


  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
"the face of XYZ", 'mascot', "the poster boy/girl/child for XYZ"


Explanation:
some alternatives.

"Image character" is 和製英語, so don't go with that.

For a person such as an actor, I would suggest using "<name> is the face of <company>".
"mascot" is usually used for animals, such as the bear/rooster/whatever creatures that often represent sporting teams.

Other than that, a popular expression that is more colloquial is "poster boy/girl/child." You can use "boy" or "girl" even when the actor in question is an adult. So for example, "<name> is the poster boy for XYZ Cornflakes," etc.

For a formal business presentation though, I would recommend the first option.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 mins (2006-06-28 02:26:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Gwyneth Paltrow - Gwyneth Paltrow new face of Estee Lauder
Gwyneth Paltrow has replaced Elizabeth Hurley as the face of Estee Lauder. The Hollywood beauty has signed a £15million contract with the beauty giants to ...
www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/70522004.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages

David Beckham the new face of Motorola, News at CNET.co.uk
The England captain has signed up to promote the mobile phone company, beginning with an endorsement of the new red Moto Slvr, proceeds from which go to ...
news.cnet.co.uk/software/0,39029694,49277598,00.htm - 37k - 26 Jun 2006 - Cached - Similar pages

bit-tech.net | Adriano is the face of Pro Evo 6
Brazilian legend Adriano is to be the face of the latest in the footie gaming series. Prepare to see his mug everywhere come this Autumn.
www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/06/13/Adriano_is_the_face_of_Pro... - 15k - 26 Jun 2006 - Cached - Similar pages

Vogue Stories
KEIRA IS THE FACE OF CHANEL. KEIRA KNIGHTLEY is the new face of Coco Mademoiselle. The rumours circulating the French fashion house for the last two months ...
www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=34784&date... - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2006-06-28 02:29:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here are some examples of usage for "poster boy/girl."
You will see that most of the people referred to are definitely not kids.

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=o...

KathyT
Australia
Local time: 05:02
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thanks. I think "the face" fits the best.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kurt Hammond: Even better answer.
4 mins
  -> Thanks, Kurt :-)
agree  Mary Murata: I'd go with "mascot" for a cartoon character and "face of.." if it's a real person.
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, Mary :-)
agree  Bailatjones: perfect suggestion
12 hrs
  -> Thanks, Michelle :-)
agree  Can Altinbay
13 hrs
  -> Thanks, Can :-)
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
image character or mascot


Explanation:
I think that it's acceptable to translate this directly as "image character," but if you'd like to use an existing English gloss then I would suggest "mascot."

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Note added at 11 mins (2006-06-28 02:24:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here are Google image searches for “北京オリンピック　イメージキャラター" and "chinese olympic mascot."

http://images.google.co.jp/images?hl=ja&q=chinese olympic ma...

http://images.google.co.jp/images?svnum=10&hl=ja&lr=&q=北京オリン...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 25 mins (2006-06-28 02:38:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I agree with both Kathy and Kurt that "image character" is 和製英語, but depending on the context I think that it is acceptable to introduce Japanese words to the English vocabulary, even if they are Japanese words based on English, such as "Walkman." Another example: "JCB's 'image character,' or mascot, is Yuji Oda." Furthermore, I would limit its use to situations where its meaning is uniquely Japanese.

Mark Kellner
United States
Local time: 15:02
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kurt Hammond: 'Image character' is Japlish. English is "mascot." Google search for "image character" with quotes turns up nothing relevant unless you add ".jp" to search poorly translated sites: http://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=en&q="image character" .jp
8 mins
neutral  Mary Murata: I agree with Kurt, image character isn't English.
4 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 day 5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
frontman for the brand image


Explanation:
an alternative

cinefil
Japan
Local time: 04:02
Native speaker of: Native in JapaneseJapanese
PRO pts in category: 4
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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