M&S tried to advertise garden furniture - they ended up bolstering rival Aldi

The marketing blunder has garnered thousands of likes on social media from bemused shoppers

Marks and Spencer's has been left red-faced after using a bottle of wine from long-term rival Aldi in a new garden furniture advert.

The supermarkets have been locked in bitter court disputes in the past over Aldi's copycat products, including their 'Cutherpert' version of the M&S Colin the Caterpillar cake.

(Marks and Spencer)

Their feud has now reignited after the German budget retailer poked fun at M&S for accidentally using its wine in an online furniture campaign.

The M&S gaffe saw a bottle of Specially Selected Côtes De Provence Blanc - sold by Aldi - placed in the centre of the £699 furniture set alongside glasses and some nibbles.

Aldi highlighted the embarrassing marketing blunder by posting a screenshot of the garden table advert on Twitter/X, 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.

The savvy social media post has garnered over 14,000 likes and 1.2 million views on X since it was posted on Tuesday morning.

Bemused shoppers praised Aldi’s social media team with one commenting: “This has won the internet debate today”. Another asked: “Is this enemies to lovers?”

The two supermarkets have been at odds before over other products such as the iconic M&S Colin the Caterpillar cake. M&S took legal action against Aldi in 2021 over its looking version named Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake.

The retailers reached an out-of-court agreement in November 2022 which saw the budget supermarket forced to alter the cake’s appearance.

Colin the Caterpillar and Cutherbert the Caterpillar (Marks & Spencer and Twitter/@marc_jowett)

However, in February 2023, Aldi lost a separate court battle over their festive gin bottles, in which the High Couty ruled they had infringed M&S’s copyright with similar bottles finished with gold flakes and an LED light.

An M&S spokesman said: “Sometimes you regret asking guests to BYOB – this one is fine for a prop but if you’d prefer to enjoy a top-quality bottle of award-winning rosé with your new garden furniture, we’d recommend our gorgeously fruity and aromatic Collection Côtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire rosé – an absolute must for lovers of pink drinks in the sunshine!”