
Aldi is being taken to court by M&S and the internet is going wild
The legal battle of the century is currently brewing, and everyone with a sweet tooth for memes is rubbing their hands together in glee.
No, it’s not Wagatha Christie but a showdown over one of Britain’s best loved modern creations: Colin the Caterpillar.
If you’ve ever celebrated a colleague or classmate’s birthday in work or at school – or, let’s be honest, just ever had a birthday – you’ll have had a slice of Colin.
The Marks & Spencer cake – which is topped with chocolate sweets and a smiling white chocolate face – has become such a household name that he has inspired a few of what can only be described as, err, similar creations, with Aldi also selling a chocolate-covered sponge called Cuthbert the Caterpillar.
But M&S is not having any cousin of Colin out there languishing at a rival store– Connie the Caterpillar is another of Colin’s crew, and she lives firmly on the shelves of M&S – and has now lodged a complaint with the High Court claiming that Aldi’s version “rides on the coat-tails” of their 30-year product.
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M&S wants Aldi to remove the product from sale and agree not to sell anything similar in the future. It says the legal action is a bid to “protect Colin, Connie and our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value.”
Hear, hear. Or is it? The whole debacle has really ruffled the internet’s feathers, with the country divided on whether the move is a) good for Colin and its special status as the nation’s sweetheart or b) bad news for those wanting a cheaper and – whisper it – equally delicious alternative.
But most importantly, it’s got people sharing some great memes...
absolutely incredible @yourolly https://t.co/AIbPPhEwMd https://t.co/suSIZv1Zfa— Scott Bryan (@Scott Bryan) 1618491382
Colin the Caterpillar woke up today and chose https://t.co/HzOJWyNZX9— Kate (@Kate) 1618488747
Waitrose sues ALDI over Colin the Caterpillar Tesco's Curly the Caterpillar, Morrison's Morris the Caterpillar and… https://t.co/68A69Chm2O— James Felton (@James Felton) 1618490906
Why the wrong face? https://t.co/zYCdY1ijlR— Richard Osman (@Richard Osman) 1618491327
@BBCNews So it begins, the Colin the Caterpillar wars. ⚔️ https://t.co/deOAKp6Cy0— David Huff (@David Huff) 1618485597
Aldi to M&S during the Colin the Caterpillar court case https://t.co/vE0bRwbm0P— Kathryn Batte (@Kathryn Batte) 1618491848
Some felt protective towards Cuthbert.
I can't believe that Colin the Caterpillar is trying to limit freedom of expression. #justiceforcuthbert— Alan White (@Alan White) 1618495310
Others were clearly on Colin’s side
Colin the Caterpillar is a great British institution that her majesty's judiciary must protect at all costs. Cuth… https://t.co/DEYOwR7cmh— Josh Glancy (@Josh Glancy) 1618488460
And some wondered whether M&S had brought it on themselves...
To be fair M&S should probably lose custody over Colin the Caterpillar after they butchered him like this https://t.co/Pkb84Plpks— Parker (@Parker) 1618490133
Others had some good ideas for how Aldi could get around the issue.
If Marks and Spencer win this Colin the Caterpillar case against Aldi then @AldiUK should come back with a Colin the Butterfly— Will Black (@Will Black) 1618491844
There were also those who couldn’t help but wonder why M&S had picked on Aldi when similar cakes including Waitrose’s Cecil, Sainsbury’s Wiggles, Tesco’s Curly, and Asda’s Clyde the Caterpillar also exist.
Wait till Colin the caterpillar finds out about Curly https://t.co/daPvIGk2Go— Shirin 🌸💕 (@Shirin 🌸💕) 1618489150
And those who issued warnings for other products with similar brand names...
One journalist used it as a chance to rank all the alternatives in order of preference – it makes for a very interesting read.
Caterpillar cakes, ranked. /THREAD/ https://t.co/wCrwWeeii3— Tom Harwood (@Tom Harwood) 1618490957
Others are just predicting that, well, the whole thing is going to be a very big deal.
Send your best court reporters to this Colin the Caterpillar hearing. I'm gonna need liveblogs, reconstructions, the lot— Nick Walker (@Nick Walker) 1618487325
Aldi even responded with a whole thread on the issue – which was very much in keeping with the tickled mood of the nation.
As for why Aldi has been singled out, we don’t know the answer to that one. But what we do know is that Colin needs to be protected at all costs. We want our cake – and we’ll eat it too.