Category Entertainment News

Aldi has never avoided conflict, facing off against M&amp, S and their well-known Kevin the Carrot at the more expensive retailer. The most recent Christmas advertisement from Aldi features the cartoon vegetable attempting to save the spirit of Christmas from a group of evil demons known as “humbugs.”

Some Aldi fans have joked the retailer could be referring to their long-standing rivals, M&amp, S, as the ‘ humbugs ‘ in the ad. Since 2021, the two companies have been at odds with one another, with a number of legal disputes and clever social media responses playing a part in the dispute.

We examine the instances where the retailers got into a fight and how Aldi responded with clever rants at the company.

Caterpillar Cake Conflict: Colin vs Cuthbert

Colin, a well-known caterpillar, is the ancestor of the legal saga between M&amp, S, and Aldi. Millions of Brits choose the chocolate-based treat to celebrate birthdays and other occasions, and M&amp, S’ Colin the Caterpillar cake is a household name in the UK.

But as Aldi does best, the cheaper retailer created a so-called ‘ dupe ‘ for Colin, named Cuthbert the Caterpillar. In a lawsuit filed in 2021, M&amp, S claimed Colin’s beloved cake violated his intellectual property rights.

M&amp, S argued that Aldi had copied the design, and even went as far as to trademark Colin’s face, colors, and specific appearance. Aldi responded with a mix of legal rebuttals and social media humour, even launching a “#FreeCuthbert” campaign on X.

They gained the public’s support for their lighthearted response, which showed that the lawsuit was an overreach by a high-end retailer against a discount chain. After months of social media posts, memes, and even collaborative fundraisers, the two retailers eventually reached a confidential agreement, though the caterpillar cake dispute has left a lasting impression.

Lookalike Gin Bottles

Unfortunately, the caterpillar cake wasn’t the end of the dispute between M&amp, S and Aldi. In 2022, the retailers again exchanged gin, this time over gin.

M&amp, S claimed Aldi copied the light-up gin bottles’ packaging, which M&amp, S introduced as a festive product with embedded lights and glistening liquid resembling a Christmas snowglobe. M&amp, S argued that Aldi’s gin bore a striking resemblance to theirs, from the decorative details to the bottle shape and design.

Aldi insisted their products were not infringing. M&amp, S eventually agreed to an undisclosed settlement, allowing Aldi to continue selling its bottles.

Aldi’s Christmas ad

Customers were quick to notice a nod to the drama in the clip’s festive scenes when Aldi’s 2022 Christmas advertisement appeared to mock their first legal saga with M&amp, S. Eagle-eyed shoppers were hysterics. Kevin the Carrot chooses to watch a football game while he is at home alone.

With the teaser for the advertisement resembling the iconic 1998 Nike World Cup Advert, viewers might be forgiven for thinking Kevin might be watching a game from the upcoming World Cup. But when people got a glimpse of Kevin’s TV screen, they realised he was watching something quite different. Instead, the carrot was enjoying a match between teams ‘ Cuth ‘ and ‘ Col’, with Cuth winning 1-0.

In response, social media users were quick to praise the cheeky detail, which delighted many. Having spotted the names, one commenter asked: “Hang on is that Cuthburt v Colin”? adding a laughing emoji, and another replied: “OMG – yes it is!! Totally missed that”.

Someone else thought the move was “brilliant”, and another fan wrote: “Aldi’s Cuthbert 1, (I’m assuming M&amp, S) Colin 0!!! Genius”!

M&amp, S ‘ ad – with Aldi wine

In April, M&amp, S made a big mistake by attempting to create a furniture advertisement for Aldi. A bottle of Specially Selected Côtes De Provence Blanc, which Aldi sold, was placed in the middle of the £699 furniture set, along with glasses and some nibbles, for the M&amp, S gaffe.

By putting a screenshot of the garden table advertisement on X, Aldi highlighted the embarrassing marketing error, saying, “Drink Aldi wine pass it on.” The wine, which sells for £7.49 at Aldi, is currently out of stock as shoppers flew to their website to have taste.

Since Tuesday morning when the clever social media post was posted, X has received over 14 000 likes and 1.2 million views.

As December draws nearer to a close, festive parties will soon start taking up residences on our calendars. From work Christmas parties to family gatherings, it’s time to look for that standout look that will wow any crowd. As customers flutter over this glamorous number, which is perfect for the holiday season, Roman may have the winning combination.

This red sequin dress from Roman is sure to be your go-to for the holidays, as rave reviews have been pouring about it.

You might want to order your size before it’s gone, so if the comments are anything to go by, this dress is likely to get snatched up quickly.

READ MORE: “My friends couldn’t believe where it’s from because I wore this stunning velvet jumpsuit to a wedding.”

READ MORE: Fashion fans are buying ‘ comfortable ‘ M&amp, S block heel ankle boots in both colours

This dazzling piece is currently available in sizes 10 through 20 and is made of stretchy jersey material to ensure a comfortable and flattering fit. Sure to elevate any occasionwear collection, this dress offers a sleeveless design, perfect for nights spent dancing, with a flared skirt that’s sure to flatter as well as turn heads. This dress has a playful cutout feature that puts a fun spin on a traditional and chic design, as well as a fashionable round neckline.

This dress, which retails for £65, comes in a red that’s appropriate for Christmas, as well as a glittering gold and glamorous black that’s equally appropriate for the festive season or any New Year’s Eve celebrations you’ve planned.

One 5-star reviewer gushes, “Excellent quality, fabulous fit, although I definitely advise going up a size. ” I normally wear size 10 Roman dresses, but this one required a size 12. Gorgeous color is perfect for a Christmas party night. My wardrobe will undoubtedly consist of a staple Christmas dress. Because of its excellent quality, it will undoubtedly last a lifetime.

Another thrilled fan of this dress beams: “Love this dress. I expected the sequins to come off, and so far I haven’t seen any. Wore it to my Xmas party and had lots of compliments”.

A third commentator states, “Beautiful dress ready for Christmas party would absolutely recommend that the sizing be appropriate and exactly sized.”

And a further customer shares: “Lovely shape and beautiful deep red colour. The length and fit for my body are both amazing. Also has sparkle overload. What more do you need”?

This essential item will soon become a staple in your holiday wardrobe and will make a statement no matter what the occasion. Head over to Roman right away to purchase it ahead of the Christmas party season.

For anyone looking for alternatives, check out this midi dress from Next, or take a peek at Nobody’s Child’s offering with this red velvet number, ideal for your Christmas ensemble if sparkles aren’t your thing.

Shirley Ballas, head of Strictly Come Dancing, has reacted to a “childish” viewer who claimed the program was broken.

The judges and show’s stars must deal with repeated viewer complaints that the scores are a “fix” when the contestants they like don’t make it to the stage. In this BBC dance competition series, viewers took to social media to slam the show.

On X, a former Twitter user, a user commented, “It’s frustrating when the judges can’t properly mark because the wrong people get in the dance off and the wrong couple get home.” When her male counterparts’ mistakes were ignored, it was puzzling to watch Sam’s smile fade away after she did well each week.

The fan’s complaint was promptly reposted by Shirley with a straightforward response. She wrote: “The show has been on over twenty years the public vote makes a difference. You the public can vote to save your favourites. It gets childish to blame the judges”.

Fans who were furious posted in the comments section, saying that the judges were favoring stars. “But let’s be honest, you’ve been overmarking people like Wynn since day one, barely highlighting any errors a male celeb makes, and then clamp down on the slightest mistake a woman e.g. Sam does so, of course, it’s gonna be affected and what the judges do take into account.

The judges received more reprehensible accusations when Dr. Punam Krishan and Shayne Ward squared off against one another. Unfortunately, Dr. Punam’s professional partner, Gorka Marquez, was fired along with her. At the end of last month, she said, “Both couples danced remarkably well, but I would also have saved Shayne and Nancy.”

“The thing is that Shirley would have voted to keep Shayne even if he’d played musical statues”, one bitterly penned, “She’s all about the men and always has been. She shouldn’t be head judge. It’s a disgrace”. Another quickly agreed that “Shirley always has a bias toward the male contestants and she detests Shayne and Pete.” Having said that, Punam had a few weeks of trouble.

According to a third Strictly fan, “Len never favored anyone and Anton just agrees with her on everything, she’s got a lot of power, Darcy is missed, she left very quickly after her” I believe the judges need to be shaken up and bid goodbye.

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According to some, King Charles’ concerns about burying the hatchet with Prince Harry stem from the claim that it could “put serious legal jeopardy” on hold.

Since Harry and wife Meghan Markle left their royal roles over the course of four years and relocated to the US, their relationship has been rocky, especially since their father and son have been married. Last year, Harry also released his explosive memoir Spare, where he railed against his royal relatives, most notably his father and brother, Prince William.

As Harry tries to discuss his security arrangements with his father in the UK, it’s been reported that the two are no longer speaking on phone. After automatically losing his police protection when he resigned as a working royal, the Duke has been at odds with the Home Office over his security when he travels to the UK.

He lost his subsequent legal battles to get it reinstated for his wife Meghan and their two children, and he is preparing to file an appeal. The King may be in an awkward position if he is dragged into Harry’s legal row, according to a constitutional expert.

In a recently updated version of the book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story by Robert Hardman, which being serialised in the Daily Mail, an advisor is quoted as saying: “Here you have the infelicitous situation where the King’s son is suing the King’s ministers in the King’s courts. That is pulling the King in three directions. You also have the situation where the King’s son publishes accounts of private conversations, some of which have been, shall we say, wrong”.

According to some, the adviser refers to a scene from Spare where Harry recounts being informed of the Queen Mother’s passing. He claims he was called while attending Eton High School with the news. Harry and Charles and William were actually skiing during the holidays.

Imagine the situation if the Prince spoke to his father about his court case, or worse, if it was a conversation that wasn’t entirely accurate, the adviser says. There would be serious legal jeopardy. Harry would only have to say, ‘ My father said this ‘ and a court case could collapse. That’s not just awkward. That’s bad. When you are the head of state and the judiciary, and because it is His Majesty’s Government, that is serious legal and constitutional risk.

Harry believes his father could help with the reinstatement of his security, according to a source close to the palace, which has been flagged as “wholly inaccurate.” A friend of Harry’s told the magazine earlier this year: “He gets ‘ unavailable right now’. His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King’s health, but those calls go unanswered too”. While another friend stated that Harry is afraid of his father and feels that he is the only one who can control him, another source added that Harry is “determined to protect his own family at all costs.”

Harry filed a lawsuit in response to a ruling from the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) in February 2020, which stated that he would no longer receive the “same degree” of publicly funded protection while residing in the country. Ravec’s decision came as a result of a change in the duke’s ‘ status ‘ after he stopped being a “full-time working member of the royal family”, a judge was told.

In February, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane rejected the duke’s case that he was “singled out” and treated “less favourably” by the decision and concluded Ravec’s approach was not irrational nor procedurally unfair. The Duke “hopes to obtain justice from the Court of Appeal,” according to a legal representative for Harry following the ruling.

Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, Harry’s children, cannot “feel at home,” according to a High Court hearing where it was held. Harry said at a previous hearing in the case, “My wife and I felt forced to step down from this role and leave the country in 2020. The UK is my home.

Both where my children currently reside in the United States and where they are rooted in the UK are important to their heritage. If it’s impossible to keep them safe on British soil, that won’t happen. Given my life experiences, I am reluctant to put myself in harm’s way either way because I can’t put my wife in such danger.

Katie Price, a national treasure, recently revealed the results of her new facelift, claiming that people assume she resembles Megan Fox, a Hollywood actress. The reality star, 46, travelled to Turkey earlier this year to undergo her sixth facelift, which left her “struggling to see” and “feeling sore”. But now the mum-of-five is healed, she took to TikTok to show off the results, saying: “Everyone keeps saying I look like Megan Fox – I wish I looked like Megan Fox, she’s stunning”!

However, her former surgeon, Dr. Jeya Prakash, is one of the people who most unmasks the similarities between Katie and the Transformers actress. The London-based doctor, who gave Katie her first two boob jobs when she shot to fame as glamour model Jordan in the late 1990s, tells the Mirror: “Katie’s facelift is not good. She and Megan have no similarities, in my opinion. If you see Megan’s smile, the upper lip is turning upwards, and the upper lip is smaller than the lower lip. It looks natural. I don’t think Katie looks natural”.

However, Dr. Prakash has revealed that many of his clients in the early 1980s would take pictures of the glamour model as inspiration for their looks. Katie doesn’t have to look like Megan either. “In the olden days, if I may say so, clients used to come and ask me to make me look like Katie Price”, he says. “I am talking about in the early 2000s, her face was so good. People don’t ask me to make them look like her now, they say, ‘ Oh god, I don’t think you did Katie Price’s face now ‘ I say no. People want it to look natural”.

Dr Prakash, who actually denied Katie a facelift when she came into his office in 2022, continues: “It’s a battle, I have been through this many times with Katie. It’s not just how it looks now. How will this surgery change in five years, you must consider before doing it? In 10 years time? You must be aware of it a lot. In addition to the swelling, the right cheek is slightly uneven if you look closely at the most recent photo.

The top doctor continued, stating that after numerous surgeries, it can be challenging to make a face appear more natural. “I always tell clients when you bring a plain place, I can make a nice building”, he says. “But if you bring an already done-up building to make it into a new building, it is very difficult. Katie was looking smashing. She was very sassy and had excellent movement. Now everything has totally changed. There are no indications of her older traits.

In countries like Turkey, Dr. Prakash only works on patients after numerous consultations and mental health assessments. He is also skilled in controlling expectations, and he will turn down applicants who want to have a completely different appearance from their natural counterparts. “I tell patients, if you are a rabbit, you should be a defined rabbit. A defined horse should be a horse if you are one. I cannot change a horse into a deer”, he explains. “They come with pictures of a celebrity they want to look like, but their bone structure, their muscle structure, their definition of fat and skin might be totally different, so I can’t do it”.

Strictly’s head judge, Shirley Ballas, may be known for her glitz and glamour, but she’s not afraid to address more challenging topics. The Merseyside-born former Latin American champion chats to OK! while taking a break from filming her eighth series of the BBC dance show. about her most beloved Strictly moments and offering her fans the most needed cuddles backstage.

She also opens up about how she navigates life’s “dark times” – as well as her struggle with bladder leaks. When asked how the role was started, Shirley bursts into laughter when asked how the campaign started to encourage women to perform pelvic floor exercises and seek medical attention for leaks.

“It did take a minute when I was invited to do this, because even though I can talk about this among my friends, it’s a bit of a taboo subject”, she explains. “But when I sat with my mum Audrey, who’s 87, she said to me, ‘ Think of all the women you could help, think of all the people out there for whom you could make it not such a taboo subject. ‘ She reminded me of some of the experiences I’ve gone through myself because she has a much better memory than I do.

Shirley, 64, explains that she had her own experiences of the issue after the birth of her son Mark, now 38, and during menopause. She’s now on a “mission” to encourage open conversations as part of her involvement with Always Discreet’s Squeeze the Day campaign, reports OK!.

“One of the times that leaks have affected me was obviously when I gave birth to Mark at the age of 25 and I had to wear a kind of napkin immediately because I had no idea what was going on with me or anything. I gave birth to him and there was nobody there for me, it was just, ‘ Get back to it and don’t complain. ‘ No one at the church who I knew really cared or helped me because I was in pain and breastfeeding and my boobs leaking.

” It wasn’t pretty for me after I gave birth to my son or during menopause. I kept it all very personal, as I did with the menopause, but my mum thinks life is about helping people, that’s why I’m on this mission. So, I think it’s important we talk about bladder leaks, and the more I talk about it, the easier it becomes. “

Shirley gave birth to her son Mark Ballas – now a three-times Dancing with the Stars champion in the US – in 1986, not long after tying the knot with his father and fellow dance prodigy, America’s Mark ‘ Corky ‘ Ballas.

” It was very different back then, “she shared”. Six weeks after giving birth, I had to return to dancing because I was still working the night before. How dare you come out here and compete with those stretch marks, my dance instructor once said to me at the time? He placed us sixth in a game we ought to have actually won.

“I can still feel what he left me with,” I recall. And then, during menopause, I was in the most insecure phase of my life. I just want to make it simple and not taboo because I only just started learning a lot more about it.

After serving as head judge for eight years, Shirley plays a motherly role in the background, generously offering advice and support in addition to her thorough analysis. This support holds particular significance given the show’s historic 20th series, which was at risk of being overshadowed by claims of misconduct, leading to a BBC inquiry.

Shirley Ballas, the show’s head judge, has revealed that she feels more emotionally connected to the dynamics of the show’s back-to-basket dynamics. “I feel like this series, particularly, I’m more aware of everything that’s going on backstage, and if I feel that somebody needs an extra snuggle bunny cuddle, I take off my Strictly dance hats and I’m there on an emotional basis for some people”, she shared.

Shirley also mentioned the various roles she plays on the show, “I’ve discovered that I wear a lot of hats.” The happy hat, the need-a-cuddle hat, the strict hat, the technical hat. I’ve got all these kinds of hats going on and I do feel a responsibility.

I don’t just work on Saturdays, I just do it. I’m well-known and known for coming up with new expressions. Even though it’s my lifelong job, I always try to deliver something with a smile in the eye and a message that encourages someone to improve next week and emerge stronger and prepare for the final.

This year’s Strictly has been a hit, with a fantastic celebrity cast and impressive dancing. Everyone is focused on the positive outcomes of the show, so the dreaded “cure” hasn’t been a topic of discussion.

Shirley continued, “They’re the strongest backstage cast that I believe has really unified around the message, “OK, we’re on a mission to all do well and bring the best to the families at home. ” And that’s all that the show ever tries to accomplish in addition to the various experiences we encounter.

Reflecting on memorable moments, Shirley said:” Ann Widdecombe, who I love, because she was at my first interview when I went to get the job. They told me, ‘ You’ve got 15 seconds to comment on the people that will flash up on the screen. ‘ Ann Widdecombe appeared in front of the camera as she was mopping the floor in a yellow dress. I was lost for words, it was the first time in my life I’ve been tongue-tied. “

” And also Kelvin Fletcher. Jamie Laing apparently injured his foot at the last minute, so Kelvin stepped in and danced the samba. In my entire life, I have never witnessed a man dance a samba that way!

While many consider her to be the matriarch of Strictly, Shirley admits she would be content if her show’s journey ended tomorrow.

” I don’t feel any pressure when I’m on Strictly because, let’s say if they didn’t renew my contract and I wasn’t on it next year, I would be so eternally grateful for the eight series that I’ve had, “she says”. When it comes to the media, social media, or whatever, I have had nothing but beautiful souls who have always been there for me in difficult times. I’ve got memories to take with me and that’s what life’s about. Strictly Come Dancing has undoubtedly given me those memories, which is what life is all about.

Always Discreet has collaborated with Shirley Ballas, a TV judge and world champion dancer, for its Squeeze the Day campaign because November is Bladder Health Awareness Month. Visit alwaysdiscreet. co. uk/en-gb/squeeze-the-day