Iceland's rude mince pies turn out to be fake

Social media users have been sharing an image that appears to show 'minge pies' for sale at Iceland - but the company says it's a Photoshopped fake.

The hashtag #mingepies has been trending on Twitter over the last couple of days, with a picture of a pack of 12 mince pies on which the typeface appears to have been rather badly chosen.

As one user commented: "Dear @IcelandFoods Have you considered using another font to label your "Mince" pies...?"

However, according to Iceland the picture has been doctored, with the addition of an extra hook on the letter 'C' to turn it into a 'G'. "It seems there are many capable people with photoshop out there..." the company says.

The image may not do Iceland any harm, though, as one Facebook user points out.

"I believe this is going viral, best free advertising means ever. Seems to be getting your name out there," he says. "Who isn't going to think ICELAND when they think mince pies this Christmas?"

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Internet hoaxers can cause real headaches for brands. Earlier this year, the Greggs bakery chain was horrified to discover that a fake slogan was appearing when customers Googled the company: "Serving s*** to scum for 70 years," it read. The problem was resolved quickly when Google pulled the image and apologised.

Sometimes, though, companies manage to horrify customers with ill-thought-out advertising all by themselves. Tesco, for example, is currently a source of great amusement thanks to the packaging of its own-brand buttermilk - which appears to show a penis and testicles.

Just last month, the Falmouth-based Pendennis Shipyard also found itself trending on Twitter when passers-by noticed what happened to the company name when the doors of the firm's vans were slid open. You guessed it: the 'denn' in the middle of the company's name was obscured, leaving the word 'penis' spelled out down the side.

And earlier this summer, lodgings website AirBNB was widely ridiculed for its new logo, which many people said looked like a drawing of genitalia.

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