M&S apologises for rude Christmas ad
Marks and Spencer has apologised for a glitch that saw a rude phrase spelled out on its website, saying it was caused by a computer error rather than a disgruntled employee.
It's currently advertising many of its Christmas tree decorations on a three-for-two deal which includes red glittery letters that can be hung to spell out words.
On the website, these and other decorations covered by the offer are displayed in what's meant to be a random order. Unfortunately, though, they appeared as 'FCK ME', with a 'U' on the line above.
The gaffe was spotted by Twitter users including Nicola Young, who posted it with the hashtag '#noordinaryswearymessage'.
"Not sure that the web designer at @marksandspencer was happy to do the Xmas page in July!" she wrote.
But Marks and Spencer has denied that this is the case, saying that the arrangement of the £1 decorations on the page was determined automatically by a computer program.
"This was due to the algorithms used to display products on our website - it was quickly spotted and corrected," a spokesman told the Daily Mail.
There's a natural human tendency to fill in the gaps and see a familiar word where it doesn't exist - indeed, fashion store French Connection UK has exploited this phenomenon using the very same letters to make its advertising more eye-catching.
Generally, though, it's not considered to be a good idea.
French makeup brand Sephora moved quickly to delete a post on its Twitter account, for example, after realising it had omitted the letter 'o' from its '#countdowntobeauty' campaign.
Last year, the Pendennis Shipyard caused amusement, when one of its vans was spotted with the side door slid open - obscuring several letters of the company name to leave the word 'penis' displayed.
And the same word appeared when a Truro pub put up a sign reading 'The wig and pen is open for business' - but failed to leave enough space between the words 'pen' and 'is'.
Sometimes, though, such viral images are the result of wishful thinking and digital editing tools. An image that appeared to show a packet of 'minge pies' from Iceland that was widely shared last year turned out to be a Photoshopped fake.
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