Caterpillargate

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, even if that tunnel looks like it might be getting longer and longer by the day. Restrictions are lifting (for now) and COVID isn’t always the main subject of the news.

Just like the natural cycle of the world continues, things are starting to return to normal. Trees are blossoming, birds are getting ready to lay their eggs, and caterpillars are turning into butterflies …

What’s that? Did someone say caterpillar?

Caterpillargate

Okay, now I’ve rambled on a bit to get to my point (and you’ve read the title of the article, so you already know what I’m going to talk about), let’s talk Caterpillargate.

In case you’ve been hiding under a rock the last few months (that would be more woodlouse than caterpillar), you’ve probably heard about the beef between M&S and Aldi. That’s right. Pandemic aside, the big news of 2021 was supermarkets arguing about cake.

And it was glorious.

A quick recap: Colin the Caterpillar, the pride and joy of M&S and literal best cake ever (sorry, fancy French patisseries) was the victim of identity theft in April. The culprit? Aldi’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar.

While all the other big supermarkets have their own caterpillar-shaped cakes, M&S was quite rightly a bit annoyed by Aldi’s offering, which is almost identical in design to the OG. They lawyered up … and the Twitter fun began.

Cringeworthy or absolutely incredible?

I know which camp I’m in. I saw a lot of hate for the Caterpillargate bandwagon but I thought it was both delightful and absolutely hilarious.

Let’s face it: it got people talking. About caterpillar cake, sure, but at the heart of it all was a valid concern of trademark infringement, intellectual property theft and copycat branding. It also gave social media teams in just about every industry the opportunity to have a bit of fun, try something new and flex their creative muscles.

Viral marketing doesn’t just happen overnight. Well, it kind of does, but hopefully you see my point. You can’t just choose to go viral, and brands can learn a lot from Caterpillargate and how the story evolved through quick responses and creative content.

Finding joy in the little things

It’s sad when a little bit of fun gets derided as being “cringe”. Maybe I’m just getting old, but I personally thought that a bit of lighthearted banter about bug-shaped cake was the perfect light relief from all the doom and gloom of the pandemic.

The fact that we’re ready to accept these more trivial snippets of news is comforting, as it means that we’re starting to see the other side of this whole ordeal. A year ago, Caterpillargate would have felt completely out of touch, and actually rather insulting. Now, with vaccinations being rolled out, pubs and shops reopening, and the world starting to return to normal, there’s so much relief to be found in enjoying the little things.

We’ve all had to deal with a lot over the last 12 months, and it’s been really refreshing to take the piss out of some cake.