The plush toys of the stars of Aldi’s 2021 Christmas advert officially go on sale in store and online from today.
And, as they seem to do every year, people are already queueing to buy them.
Festive shoppers keen to get their hands on the cuddly toys have been taking to social media this morning to share their place in the online queue, with many reporting that they have been placed in a queue with more than 60,000 people ahead of them.
A message on the Aldi website holding page reads: “We’re very sorry, but there are currently lots of people trying to access the Aldi website. We’ve automatically placed you in a queue, but don’t worry about refreshing – this page will update automatically as you enter the site.”
“There are 30,000 people queuing to access Aldi’s website to buy soft toys,” one Twitter user wrote.
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“Ahhh the annual Aldi waiting in an online queue, it’s almost as traditional as mince pies and sprouts,” another tweet read.
In-person queues outside Aldi stores this morning have also been reported around the UK too.
The budget supermarket retailer has certainly become known for its Christmas adverts starring everyone’s favourite character ‘Kevin the Carrot’ in recent years, and this year, it’s absolutely no different, as the release of the 2021 edition earlier this month went on to amass millions of views and thousands of comments and interactions.
If you’ve not seen the advert yet, it’s a take on Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol – renamed ‘A Christmas Carrot by Charles Chickens’ – and it features various different and excellently-named, festive food-themed characters.
Characters starring in the advert include its lead ‘Ebanana Scrooge’, ‘Marcus Radishford’, ‘Peas & Goodwill’, ‘Tiny Tom’.
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Kevin the Carrot himself also took on the role of ‘the Spirit of Christmas’.
The story follows the Christmas-loathing Ebanana, who is reminded of the joys of the festive season by the Spirit of Christmas until he eventually realises the positives of Christmas, and goes around spreading goodwill.
The plush toys of the stars of Aldi’s 2021 Christmas advert officially go on sale in store and online from today / Credit: Aldi UK & Ireland
The plush toys of each of the advert’s characters are priced at £3.99 each.
As well as all the characters from the Christmas advert, Aldi has also announced that a plush toy version of its famous and much-loved ‘Cuthbert the Caterpiller’ – who many will remember grabbed headlines after being embroiled in a legal battle earlier this year – will also be available to buy in store and online.
This year, Aldi has partnered with award-winning giving platform Neighbourly – which helps businesses make a positive impact in their communities by donating volunteer time, money, and surplus products, all in one place.
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The retailer will donate 1.8 million meals to families in need this Christmas.
During Ebanana and the Spirit of Christmas’s whistle-stop tour, they encounter a smiley red radish named Marcus Radishford / Credit: Aldi UK & Ireland
Sean McGinty – Marketing Director at Aldi UK – added: “Christmas is a time for hope, and we’re privileged to be working with Marcus, who is one of the most inspirational young people in the UK, having done so much in the past 18 months to help provide free school meals for children.”
“We hope our campaign will remind everyone of the true meaning of Christmas,” he added.
Steve Butterworth – Chief Executive at Neighbourly – said: “We’re delighted to be supporting Aldi in their year-round food redistribution programme and in their commitment to donate 1.8 million meals this Christmas.
“These donations will help a record number of families across the UK during what is expected to be the busiest year on record for local charities and causes.”
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You can watch the 2021 Aldi Christmas advert in full here.
‘A step too far’: Manchester clothing brand accuses Primark of ripping off its designs
Georgina Pellant
A Manchester clothing brand has accused Primark of ripping off its designs, taking to social media to air its frustration after the high street shop released a copycat hoodie.
In a now-deleted Instagram video, local clothing retailer Hikerdelic compared a Primark ‘Explore Nature’ kid’s hoodie to one of its original designs and then highlighted how both the logos and overall aesthetic are nearly identical.
Hikerdelic’s logo features its brand name set into a grassy hill, below a pink and yellow sun with rays stretching outwards.
Primark’s design also features wording set into a grassy hill below a beaming sun, albeit this time the message reads ‘Explore Nature’ and the colour scheme is ever so slightly different using purple and coral instead of pink and yellow.
Hikerdelic’s original logo (left) and the Primark veresion (right). / Image: Hikerdelic
Hikerdelic was first founded by Proper Magazine’s Mark Smith and Neil Summers in Stockport five years ago, and the logo in question is of sentimental value – being the first that the team ever designed in partnership with artist Daren Newman.
Taking to Instagram to vent over the similarities, the caption underneath the Ancoats-based brand’s video read: “We’ve been sitting on this for a while. From time to time we find stuff out there similar to ours, but usually it’s just a case of people being influenced by similar things. It’s hard to be 100% original.
“This though, from a corporate behemoth we’re all familiar with, is a step too far, in our opinion. We’d be tempted to turn the other cheek and get on with doing our thing normally.
“Sometimes though, when someone kicks sand in your face you’ve got to let them know it’s not really on. At the end of the day it’s a business that makes hundreds of millions a year in clear profit. They don’t need to step on toes.”
The post continued: “This was the first logo we worked with @daren_newman on, and although we’ve got plenty more in our armoury, it’s the one that we began with. It’s not just us who are affected but talented independent illustrators too.”
“We all know everything new is inspired by something that has gone before and it can be difficult to stay original, however it’s clear to see this is something different to that and the response on our Instagram has backed that up.”
Feature image – Hikerdelic
Shopping
Evri voted UK’s worst parcel delivery company AGAIN in annual survey
Emily Sergeant
Evri has once again been voted the worst parcel delivery firm in the UK, according to those who voted in an annual survey.
Less than two months after the company unfortunately found itself at the bottom of the 2022 parcel league table for the second year running, meaning it was the worst-performing parcel delivery firm in the country, Evri – which famously rebranded from Hermes in March 2022 after reports of parcel mishandling – has now been handed yet another blow by customers in an annual user survey.
The company performed the worst in MoneySavingExpert’s (MSE) annual poll, which asked users to rate their experience of each delivery firm they had used during the past 12 months.
MSE asked its users to rate each company as either ‘great’, ‘OK’ or ‘poor’.
Evri rated worst parcel delivery firm in our annual service poll. 👎
More than 43,000 users took part in the annual survey, and they casted over 300,000 votes.
Out of the over 300,000 votes casted, Evri received more than 39,000 votes, with 62% rating it as ‘poor’, which is not only up from 48% in 2022, but also “significantly worse” than the other firms at the bottom of the poll, according to MSE.
39% of users rated Yodel as ‘poor’, while 22% rated UK Mail as ‘poor’.
Evri voted UK’s worst parcel delivery company again in annual survey / Credit: Evri
On the other end of the spectrum meanwhile, Amazon Logistics secured the top spot on the poll for a second year in a row, while DPD remained in close second place for a third year, followed by sister company DPD Local.
Overall, five of the 17 firms were rated better this year compared to last year’s poll, according to MSE – with UPS and Fedex UK both rising three places.
However, Royal Mail performed significantly worse this year and dropped from fourth to eighth place.
The company performed the worst in MoneySavingExpert’s annual poll / Credit: Evri
“Evri’s repackaging from Hermes early on in 2022 has clearly not helped it to shake off its past reputation,” admitted Oli Townsend from MoneySavingExpert.com.
“In fact, scoring a poorer rating than the previous year.
“While some firms have really been delivering – quite literally – others have too often fallen short, and we’ve seen many reported issues of long delays, damaged items, or parcels just not turning up at all in recent months.
“So it’s more important than ever for consumers to know their rights and use them.”
Emily Sergeant -
25th November 2021 
