Following on from the recent confrontation between Aldi and Marks & Spencer on social media regarding their caterpillar cake characters, Danni Johnson of Xpand Marketing asks whether brand personalities might pose a problem and even mislead consumers.
I only need to say ‘caterpillar’ for you to understand exactly what’s inspired me to write this piece – even my twins are familiar with the Cuthbert-vs-Colin social media storm and they’re nearly three.
But viral content and humorous tweets aside, do we need to consider how going too far with brand personality is, in fact, misleading consumers about what’s right and wrong?
Aldi vs M&S: The Background
Most people have enjoyed a Colin the Caterpillar cake at some point in their lives, but last month the favourite made headlines for more than its taste – news broke that M&S was to sue Aldi for infringement of copyright, accusing Aldi of “riding on the coat-tails” of their much-loved Colin, with Cuthbert the Caterpillar. And social media blew up.
Ordinarily in a situation like this, a brand’s crisis communications team would react in line with standard practice, but not Aldi. Aldi is often remarked as being “good on social” by those who work in the marketing industry. Recognised for its witty tone of voice and bullish brand personality, you can spot an Aldi tweet a mile off.
Aldi’s response was, of course, true to their well-known style, mocking M&S’s strapline by tweeting: “This is not just any court case, this is… #FreeCuthbert.” In fact, their social media team went to town on M&S, with a clear goal of entertaining its fans and followers, rather than respecting a clearly upset brand.
The tongue-lashing from Aldi soon gathered momentum as, in true Aldi style, they brought other brands into the mix, attracting allies to rally around Cuthbert.
