Why didn't M&S sue other stores for "copycat" caterpillar cakes?

[Star555]

www.bbc.com/news/business-56756731

M&S now suing Aldi for "Cuthbert the Caterpillar"...but why didn't they sue other stores for the their Colin the Caterpillar imitation cakes like Tesco's Curly or Sainsbury's Wiggles?

Hate the cakes anyway, dry as old bones.

@earthyfire

Hate the cakes anyway, dry as old bones.

Glad it’s not just me. I find them dry too.

The Christmas Colin was dry. But the Easter Colin was amazing. So yummy and moist. Really there’s not much cake. It’s chocolate with ganache with a small amount of cake.

I still maintain its Swiss Roll with a face.

I’ve just had a revelation. The fact that it’s a birthday cake means that it’s very likely to be consumed by non-purchasers, and hence the often used but rarely plausible “people will be confused and this poor-quality product will have a negative impact on our brand image” argument is actually reasonably plausible.

If I eat a slice of Cuthbert birthday cake at someone else’s house, or at work, and it’s awful, then I am genuinely likely to think it’s the real thing and be put off buying one from M&S.

I’ve woken up my household IP consultant and he agrees that this is a genuinely good argument. If M&Ss legal department are on this thread and wish to licence it from me I’m not actually a big fan of Colins but am happy to take payment in the form of flapjack bites and Prawn Alfredo. (Household IP consultant says that actually it’s too late because they’ll have filed their arguments already and if they didn’t include it they’ll be kicking themselves).

@YesThisIsMe

I’ve just had a revelation. The fact that it’s a birthday cake means that it’s very likely to be consumed by non-purchasers, and hence the often used but rarely plausible “people will be confused and this poor-quality product will have a negative impact on our brand image” argument is actually reasonably plausible.

If I eat a slice of Cuthbert birthday cake at someone else’s house, or at work, and it’s awful, then I am genuinely likely to think it’s the real thing and be put off buying one from M&S.

I’ve woken up my household IP consultant and he agrees that this is a genuinely good argument. If M&Ss legal department are on this thread and wish to licence it from me I’m not actually a big fan of Colins but am happy to take payment in the form of flapjack bites and Prawn Alfredo. (Household IP consultant says that actually it’s too late because they’ll have filed their arguments already and if they didn’t include it they’ll be kicking themselves).

While I get your point, it’s only the face of the Aldi one that makes it look like M&S. The bodies look the same whether they’re from Tesco/Asda/M&S etc.

The other supermarkets the faces are different enough that you would be able to find where it was from if overly bothered. PP is right I think that as its a cake more than likely most people eating it won't see the box, and as the face looks so similar (purposefully so let's be honest), it's likely people might think it's M&S. I don't think blatant copying is needed anyway, plenty of creative people who would love the chance to design a cake. Why not a Kevin carrot one

If they’re much more likely to win with the Aldi one then they can start with that and if they get a solid win they can move onto the others.

They’re not the only people to go after Aldi for this - every now and then Aldi push their luck just a bit too far and end up on the end of a lawsuit.

Tbh it’s probably worth the cost in publicity to both sides. They can drag it on for another couple of weeks, Aldi agrees to change Cuthbert’s face to blue and brings it back, all the newspapers do a compare and contrast taste test, six months later a million mums subliminally think “oh a Colin/Cuthbert cake would be a nice treat for that group picnic”.

Because of the snobbery factor. Plus Aldi are small compared with other chains.
Odd that they don't bat an eyelid at Sainsbury's morrisons, asda etc. They're large corporations with more money for legals.
It's just snobbish bullying.

Aldi have ten thousand stores and a turnover of 50 billion euros. I think you can save your sympathy.

I’m a massive fan of Cuthbert, he tastes exactly the same as Colin for £2 cheaper.

@sociallydistained

I’m a massive fan of Cuthbert, he tastes exactly the same as Colin for £2 cheaper.

Is that all it is? Surely the difference in price is more than £2?

I can see M & S point.
Someone put a photo up and the only real difference was Cuthbert had fewer smarties on top.

So at a kid's party it's brought out, parents see it and assume it's Colin. Maybe think it doesn't taste so nice and say "oh M&S is going downhill. Even their Colin Caterpillar cake isn't as nice. I'm not going to get the dc's cake from there this year."

With the publicity, at least they hope people will be aware, so won't do that.

And actually, Aldi, if you're not trying to piggyback on it, do what the others did and make it a bit different. There's imitation and there's trying to make it identical. There's a difference.

And no, I don't shop at either.

It’ll be awkward when we discover that Cuthbert tastes better than Colin #FreeCuthbert

There's a huge issue around supermarkets imitating well known and regarded branded products. They deliberately ape the packaging to make consumers think it's the same product, just cheaper. No doubt sometimes that will be the case, but not all the time.

The level of expertise in this thread is life affirming.

There's a taste test of the various supermarket caterpillar cakes here Important work, I think you'll all agree. (Pre Cuthbert, though).

From the photos in that article, assuming they haven't changed since, it does look like the others have distinct differences to Colin (mainly the eyes, and the back decoration). Cuthbert seems to have exactly the same face as Colin, and the back is only slightly different... more, but smaller "smarties" but no sprinkles, other sweets, icing stripes or anything. So Aldi seems to be taking the piss a bit more than the other supermarkets have. Even the box is more similar.

It’s a win win isn’t it. Lots of free publicity for all supermarkets for all their caterpillar cakes for all the birthday parties that will take place this year as they couldn’t last year. Everyone’s happy!

Yes I bet they sell out everywhere today. Dry cake for all!

Aldi take the piss with ripping off brands. I’m surprised they don’t get sued more often.

Mind you, I’m no stranger to their jo Malone candles.

@endlesscraziness

Wiggles is better than Colin!

I agree!! DS is 22 and having a Wiggles cake is family tradition! Last year we had to get him the Co-op version which was hideous.

@Sparklingbrook

Yes I bet they sell out everywhere today. Dry cake for all!

The Aldi ones haven’t been on sale since February apparently.

Yes, I love an Aldi Jo Malone candle too @Freshprincess.

Does anyone know what the stated weights of Colin and Cuthbert are? I've tried to find out, saddo that I am, but I'm willing to bet the Aldi one is slightly smaller and therefore not such a saving.

I wonder if Aldi could claim that the caterpillar wasn't actually particularly popular until the other stores started making theirs. As far as I know that's when it became a cult thing.

Certainly we bought them from a non M and S store (not Aldi either) when our kids were young .