UPDATE: It is rare for a marketer to come forward and admit they have made a mistake. But that is exactly what Gorton’s did. Not only did the company add the missing accent over “mamas,” but it sent a very nice email thanking this blog for pointing out the mistake. Scroll down to the end of the post to read the complete email:

I love it when marketers go out of their way and launch Spanish-language web sites to reach my people (i.e. Hispanics.)

But just one little thing. If you are going to be as rigorous as Gorton’s Seafood, which seems to be pretty good at putting accents and including “eñes” in their Spanish-language copy, you might want to make sure to put a little accent over the word “mamás” … I mean, if what you mean is to talk about moms (mamás) and not what some dirty minds (not mine) might be thinking of.

FROM 02/16/2012.

Dear Ms. Martinez,

Thank you so much for alerting us to the error that was included on our recently launched website,GortonsEnEspanol.com. We are very sorry for the omission of that accent in the headline. As you noted, we did work diligently to be rigorous about our translation. Though we used a Spanish translation service, and had Spanish-speaking staff members review the site before it was launched, this typo was somehow overlooked. We truly regret the error and sincerely apologize to you and to any of our consumers who may have been offended.

The error has been fixed and we are once more reviewing the site to ensure accurate translation of the intended message. It is our goal to do the right thing and to always put our consumers first. 

While we worked quickly to fix the error, we still feel badly about it. Sometimes even when you give things your best effort mistakes still happen. But, as a thank you for alerting us to the issue we would like to send you a little something. If you’d like to send us your mailing address we can get it out to you right away.

Again, our sincere apologies and heartfelt thanks,

The Gorton’s Crew