To admire Marks and Spencer's ambitious in store advertising?

[MrsDustyBusty]

Today I was in Marks and Spencer's in Dublin and they have a display advertising special celebration foods for bonfire night. That's an ambitious project, I thought to myself.

AIBU to admire the gung-ho spirit of commerce against the odds?

My company refers to some countries as regions, because only one regional manager looks after them! It's not an insult. I'm Scottish and definitely not offended! It was obvious it was meant in a corporate manner

I've just remembered that a friend of mine complained to M&S Ireland when she saw they were selling jigsaws, or maybe biscuit tins, depicting a map of the UK and Ireland but using the term 'British Isles'. They were all immediately withdrawn from the shelves and apologies were given. Sadly no free vouchers.

That's so funny! When no one buys any they may rethink next year. 😂🎆🎇 Are they selling fireworks too?

Gnome I'm pretty sure that the thwarting is the celebrated bit

It's just that the 'baddie's' name, and his explosives lend themselves more to a party situation!

I am still not really clear whether we celebrate that the Gunpowder plot was thwarted or that they tried!

I think I’ve always leaned a bit towards the latter if I’m honest.

If you mean outside of the UK then no because we don’t have them. If we did then yes probably.

But within the UK, anything but London is a regional office which each look after regions of the UK. It’s not some bigoted attempt at not recognising Scottish or NI autonomy for fucks sake, what we do is not impacted by culture or nation differences (auditing). (we don’t have any Welsh offices before you me again).

Guy Fawkes is sometimes toasted as "the last man to enter Parliament with honest intentions". Possibly a little harsh.

I think we are meant to celebrate the death of a traitor and the triumph of Parliament, but he is now a superhero for any cause when people think the state rides rough shod over people's rights and opinions, so I think he might have had the last laugh.

He was English, of course, and James I (a Scot) was following the same form as his Tudor predecessors, who all took their turn at burning people at the stake for any number of reasons, including their nearest and dearest. It doesn't change the fact that he has a kind of pseudo martyr status for Catholics though, so promoting Guy Fawkes night products in Ireland is more than a bit stupid.

Gunpowder on the BBC has reminded people what the origin of the night is.
I think a lot of people genuinely don’t know.

Its hard to know. There was a really funny one in tesco some time ago where they were selling children's nightdresses with 'I love bed and mickey' written on them. I expect if the manager had any discretion about what they sell, he thought it was just too funny to not sell.

Mickey is local slang for penis.

This reminds me of those Disney channel ads with the countdown to the 'Quest for the Crystal Mickey'....

squoosh that is another political one. Apparently they were called something akin to the British Isles by the Greeks thousands of years ago and, understandably, it is only since Irish independence that it has been an issue. Great Britain is just the name of the biggest island in the archipelago. There is an alternative argument for taking back the word 'British' and saying it isn't just for the English, Scots and Welsh, it is also for the Irish and the Breton French.

I remember when Next Home opened near me, I think it was their first homewares store in Ireland (possibly still their only). It was stuffed to the gills with Union Jack stuff and I said to my friend "What on earth were they thinking to stock all this Union Jack stuff, there's no chance they'll sell any of it" in quite a carrying voice as she was a bit away from me. Then realised that a manager was standing right behind me. I went back in about a fortnight later and it was all gone, so it can't have just been me who was boggled by the logic of it.

My company refers to some countries as regions, because only one regional manager looks after them! It's not an insult. I'm Scottish and definitely not offended! It was obvious it was meant in a corporate manner

Of course it isn't offensive.

Oh yes, the Union jack cushions in ASDA and similar go down like a lead balloon here in Scotland

I wouldn't buy cushions but I have Union Jack mugs. I had Union Jack cake decorations and little mini paper Union Jacks to stick in cupcakes on indy referendum night courtesy of either Cath Kidston or Waitrose. Husband has Union Jack cufflinks from Pinks. All a reaction to his mad family.

Last week Tesco in Scotland was running a big promotion for the My Little Pony movie. Great arts and crafts table and a free lucky dip with lovely prizes. Only problem....no kids! They were in school and nursery here in Scotland but it was mid-term in England!

We have bonfire night every year in cork. Bonna night was always a good celebration. Had nothing to do with guy fawkes. We just liked to set stuff on fire.

Yeah Bonna's nothing to do with Guy Fawke's....For starters, it's in June....

I've seen Union Jack items selling in Next, Markies, TKMaxx..etc etc, all in Scotland. Why wouldn't they?

Espee now that is a genuine cause for complaint - lack of knowledge of regional variations. Although I suppose Scotland complicates matters by local authorities taking different holidays.

Since Scotland voted to stay in the union I don't know why Union flags would not be welcome on cushions etc in homeward departments!

Why are people getting chippy about ‘regions’?

Very odd

You are only displaying your own parochial ignorance OP. The tradition of bonfires for Halloween has taken place in Ireland for centuries, nothing to do with and before that Guy Fawkes crap in your region and nothing remotely to do with Catholicism either. Just something the 'english' region wanted to jump on the bandwagon with with their own slant. It is a Celtic based festival.

I am at "regions", it says so much about the way many English people refer to Ireland and the Irish.

I remember some chain store trying to flog Euro96 tat with England plastered all over it in Dublin when I was a kid. Idiots.

What is Ket apart from Ketamine?

Sweets!

Halloween bonfires were definitely traditional in my part of Ireland but they were never referred to as "bonfire night" as certainly never Guy Fawkes night, nor were they celebrated on the 5th Nov.

Indeed in terms of Guy Fawkes - it is one of the most euphemistic ‘victories’ celebrated by any intelligent people - (Hi lads, well they light bonfires around this time anyway, so we won’t stand out as being wholly unreasonable, goodness lets light a match’ and anyone else who vaguely pisses us off, let’s throw an effigy of them on there too.. Hee, hee’ Not withstanding numerous points of view of non-royalists and the blatant ignorance to the actual event the 'Guy Fawkes' bonfires are marking, it carries on. Ireland is not a region and English based event/insignia marketing doesn’t sell here, ever really.

Repeatedly see England footy kit/memorabilia on sale in Tesco/Asda etc up here in Scotland which doesn't sell.

Likewise union flag stuff

But those in the know then snap them up when the prices are hugely reduced and sell on eBay etc at inflated prices, I hear the union flag items in particular sell very well to America and Japan.

As a lapsed Catholic (there are no ex Catholics just bad ones) living in a very catholic area bonfire night is marked but Guy is most definitely not the effigy burned.