Three senior leaders at Aldi are to run the London Marathon dressed as the discounter’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake.
Aldi UK MD Graham Hetherington and group MDs Dan Ronald and Oliver King are set to take on the 26.2-mile course in the three-person costume.
The three bosses are aiming to raise £100,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust by tackling the event dressed as what Aldi described as “the nation’s favourite caterpillar cake”.
Cuthbert the Caterpillar was at the centre of a legal battle in 2021 when M&S launched a High Court trademark infringement claim against Aldi, arguing the cake was too similar to its own Colin the Caterpillar. The two retailers reached a confidential out of court agreement in November that year.
“Seven young people aged between 13 and 24 are diagnosed with cancer in the UK every day and Teenage Cancer Trust works tirelessly to make sure they don’t face it alone,” said Ronald.
“All the highly trained expert staff and specialist cancer units they provide in NHS hospitals across the UK need our support and we want to raise both money and awareness for this vital cause.”
King said: “There is no better way to show our support for this fantastic charity than by proving that Cuthbert, everyone’s favourite caterpillar cake, can take on one of the world’s most famous marathons.
“But, running a marathon attached to each other is going to be really hard so we’ll certainly be ‘Colin’ on everyone’s support as we crawl to the line.”
Those interested in donating should visit Aldi’s Just Giving page.
Aldi trolled M&S on social media over its lawsuit in 2021, with stunts such as adverting Cuthbert’s return to sale on billboard posters on vans parked outside M&S stores. Cuthbert also got a cameo role in Aldi’s 2021 Christmas ad, being led away by police in cuffs in the background of a scene.
However, Aldi hasn’t always had things its own way in intellectual property disputes with M&S. In February this year, the High Court ruled Aldi’s Infusionist gin liqueur amounted to an infringement of protected designs for M&S’s Light Up gin liqueur range.
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