M&S tried to advertise garden furniture but ended up backing rival Aldi

Marks & Spencer is left red-faced after using a bottle of wine from long-term rival Aldi in a new garden furniture advert.

The supermarkets have been embroiled in bitter court battles in the past over Aldi’s knock-off products, including a “Cutherpert” version of the Martha Colin caterpillar cake.

Their feud has now been reignited after the German budget retailer mocked M&S for accidentally using its wine in an online furniture promotion.

In M&S’s blunder, a bottle of specially selected Côtes de Provence wine sold by Aldi was placed in the center of the £699 piece of furniture, alongside glasses and snacks.

Aldi posted a screenshot of the Garden Table ad on Twitter/X, highlighting the embarrassing marketing blunder and saying: “Drink Aldi wine and pass it on.”

The wine, which costs £7.49 at Aldi, is currently out of stock as customers head to their website to try it.

The savvy social media post has racked up more than 14,000 likes and 1.2 million views on X since it was posted on Tuesday morning.

Baffled shoppers praised Aldi’s social media team, with one commenting: “This wins the internet debate today”. Another asked: “Is this lovers enemies?”

The two supermarkets have previously feuded over other products including the iconic M&S Colin the Caterpillar cake. In 2021, M&S took legal action against Aldi over a look version of its cake called Cuthbert the Caterpillar.

The retailers reached an out-of-court agreement in November 2022, with the budget supermarket forced to change the appearance of the cakes.

However, in February 2023, Aldi lost a separate court case over its festive gin bottle, with the High Court ruling that they had infringed Marks & Spencer’s copyright by using a similar bottle with gold foil and LED lights.

A spokesman for M&S said: “Sometimes you regret asking guests to bring their own wine – this is fine as a prop, but if you want to enjoy a top quality bottle of award-winning rosé on your new garden furniture , we would recommend our fruity and aromatic Côtes de Provence Saint-Victoire Rosé range – an absolute must-have for lovers of pink drinks in the sun!”