Colin & Cuthbert

[Comefromaway]

I have to admit that I've been loving Aldi's twitter feed the last few days along with all the other companies that have joined in.

But now they have appealed to M & S to raise money for charity not lawyers by donating all profits from a limited edition Cuthbert to two cancer charities, one they are linked with and one M & S are linked with.

It's not putting M & S in a good light to be honest.

@campion

Aldi is being “targeted” because their product is significantly lower in quality than the M&S version. Once out of the box eg at a party, guests might assume it’s from Marks and be disappointed. They therefore wouldn’t buy the M&S version for their own party

Very good point. I haven't done a blind tasting (yet) but I bet there's a noticeable difference for the discerning palate. Trouble is, many people like cheap ingredients.

Hahaha. Someone I know who is quite posh says that Cuthbert is way tastier than Colin. And people with an extremely 'discerning palate' probably wouldn't be seen dead eating bought cake of any persuasion I love a Colin myself but am looking forward to also trying a Cuthbert for research purposes

I used to always shop at Aldi but changed to Sainsbury's during the panic buying this time last year/ this was a snobbish move on my part because in my very anxious state of mind I thought a more expensive supermarket would be less a victim of panic buying (it was Tbf) plus they had an early nhs slot I could use. I've been back to Aldi today for the first time in over a year as it's a week till payday and I'm skint so thought I'd get more for my money and it was virtually the same price as my Sainsbury's shop - it's really not a value shop anymore and I would definitely say Aldi are the bigger and more successful shop at the moment compared to m & s so I find the 'poor old Aldi' argument not very accurate. I'm team m & s

M and S have gone down in my estimation on this one.

I do get the issue but its really, really minor in the current scheme of things. I can see why they picked Aldi over the others but the fact there are so many others and they've been in existence for decades, just makes them look precious.

Whether or not they are technically in the right they need to read the room on this one. It's put me off shopping at M and S if they think chucking money at the lawyers for a chocolate caterpillar is good use of money.

This will only do massive favours for Aldi. I didn't even know they did this cake, and I shop there! Be interested to see what it tastes like 😉. The publicity from this, will be immense. And quite frankly make m and s look like dicks...
Even if they're right, why just sue Aldi?

@ClarrieGrundy

The difference is the packaging and the name.

Nestle - blue box called Walnut Whip M&S - blue box called Walnut Classic Whip

Yeah massive difference

It's not putting M & S in a good light to be honest.

I disagree - I think by doing the whole passive aggressive "Why not spend your money on charideee rather than being meanies" (I feel like it was given a MN head tilt too) has made Aldi look like total twats. Love the reply from M&S

I'm totally Team M&S - copyright laws exist for a reason and Aldi have a bit of a history of not giving a fuck about other people's intellectual property

Walnut whip is not patented AFAIK. Walnut whip is not a character based on a specific animal.

If you don't understand patent laws, why they exist and what you can patent, maybe do a quick Google before commenting

They should totally do a Kevin the Carrot cake
Brilliant response from M&S.

Asda and Waitrose have joined Aldi in the #caterpillarforcancer campaign.

I think it's interesting that the legal team at Aldi have signed off the twitter campaign.

I teach A Level Law and discussed this with my form today, explaining why protection of intellectual property is important. We all agreed we craved a Colin after this so I bought two on the way home, one for me and one for them tomorrow!

Aldi couldn't give a fuck about raising money for cancer charities they just wanted to stick the boot in to M&S in a "ooh you can't say anything because it's for cancer" kind of way. So obvious! I have enjoyed the social media wars though

@JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows

Walnut whip is not patented AFAIK. Walnut whip is not a character based on a specific animal.

If you don't understand patent laws, why they exist and what you can patent, maybe do a quick Google before commenting

That’s not the argument through. PP’s have said that unlike Aldi, M&S are completely unique in what they bring out.

People are pointing out that, like every other supermarket, M&S make variations of familiar products.

Yes but @Womencanlift the Colin/Cuthbert lawsuit is based on copyright and patent 'theft' - everyday products like walnut whips, digestives, custard creams etc aren't the same because they aren't patented. They're essentially up for grabs by anyone. Colin IS patented and that's the crucial difference

ClarrieGrundy
The difference is the packaging and the name.
Nestle - blue box called Walnut Whip
M&S - blue box called Walnut Classic Whip

Yeah massive difference hmm

Nestle have discontinued Walnut Whips after they the removed walnuts from the top and sales fell.

Aldi is being “targeted” because their product is significantly lower in quality than the M&S version. Once out of the box eg at a party, guests might assume it’s from Marks and be disappointed. They therefore wouldn’t buy the M&S version for their own party

Fk me, love, it's a lump of cake not Beluga caviar.

@Fromage

Aldi is being “targeted” because their product is significantly lower in quality than the M&S version. Once out of the box eg at a party, guests might assume it’s from Marks and be disappointed. They therefore wouldn’t buy the M&S version for their own party

Fk me, love, it's a lump of cake not Beluga caviar.

The first statement is just nonsense - that's not how patent laws work!

The first statement is just nonsense - that's not how patent laws work!

The issue ultimately centres around the likelihood of confusion of the public, doesn’t it? I am also a lawyer btw. Also it’s not a patent I don’t think - it’s a trademark.

The first statement is just nonsense - that's not how patent laws work!

I never said that’s how patent laws work. It’s just a suggestion as to why M&S are pursuing Aldi rather than Waitrose or any other supermarket that makes a caterpillar cake.

It’s a trademark not a patent, so those claiming people know nothing might want to brush up on your own knowledge first eh?

Secondly, M&S are in serious trouble at the moment, so they are going to do anything to try to come out on top. The launch with Ocado has been a disaster, many of their sales are down, they were in fact in trouble before the pandemic, so they’re trying to claw back some loyalty.

As for the statement that Aldi products are of lesser quality, the point being made here is very real. Fact is, there are a lot of brands which are over priced but are traded on the brand not the product, and which are regularly copied and at a significantly lower price. Which sends out a very clear message that it’s a name and not a product you’re paying for.

Just look at supermarket own brand vs branded e.g. Kellogg’s bran flakes you can’t tell the difference between those and sainsburys own.

Aldi baked beans vs Heinz, and I would never have even tasted Aldi ones purely because I would have automatically had Heinz down as better.

all the supermarkets have a caterpillar cake. And no, it’s not about the exact look of the product if you’re going after the trademark, the trademark is the name, so if other supermarkets have a caterpillar cake they’re in the same position as Aldi yet M&S are only going after Aldi.

And really, it’s just a cake. No-one in their right mind would pay upwards of 7 quid for a cake anyway.

I'm interested to see how this plays out. I did cringe when I saw that Aldi were now involving cancer charities though..

@emilyfrost

I think Aldi are the shameful ones here.

They created an exact replica of an M&S product (it’s not like the other supermarkets, which are distinctive) and are now trying to get away with it by forcing M&S into an impossible situation.

Awful, awful retailer.

Absolutely this. They are making a joke of ripping off someone else's product and ruining its reputation. They did it to Brudog too, but Brudog sorted Aldi out put them back in their box by creating a drink especially for Aldi. Hope Marks are able to put Aldi firmly back in their box.... money hustling copycats

@JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows

Yes but *@Womencanlift* the Colin/Cuthbert lawsuit is based on copyright and patent 'theft' - everyday products like walnut whips, digestives, custard creams etc aren't the same because they aren't patented. They're essentially up for grabs by anyone. Colin IS patented and that's the crucial difference

Jolly good.

But I think you'll find that toblerone and walnut whips are patented...

And M&S will have deliberately taken action now because they know that if they’d done it while both cakes were available people would go out and buy both to test them for difference and would likely have found Aldi’s to be the better one.

Isn’t this just a bit like that posh toiletries brand, the one with the handsoap? And then the copycat one became even more popular! What the hell is it called? It’s not Russell and Bromley, but something like that.