31-07-2025
The Spin: When mistakes make it to the front page
Those with a keen eye on news and advertisements – or, should we say, errors and mistakes within media and marketing – sent in a couple of interesting submissions to The Spin this month.
Several of these submissions, unfortunately, appear on the front page of local news titles, so we've reserved the top spot for them on the last page of this edition.
Kicking things off in big, bold font is an inescapable typo on the front page of the Norwich Evening News. Looks like the headline either made the front page in a hurry or the sub-editor might have called in sick on 10 June.
Funnier still, we have a typo on the front page of the Irish Examiner that might have escaped notice if it were anything but the name of a certain UK Member of Parliament – who remains quite unpopular in Ireland. Let us know if it tickles you when you read it aloud.
Meanwhile, in what seems to be quite the coincidence, Indian newspaper Mid-Day ran a Daddy's Day Out ad by KidZania on its front page, which was prepared well in advance, to advertise an aviation experience for kids. The coincidence: The ad, which shows a portion of an Air India plane popping out of a building, was featured on 12 June – the same day an Air India plane crashed into a building in India. Note to creatives: Maybe, next time avoid any associations between planes and buildings?
Speaking of aeroplane-related mishaps in the media, Sky News and The Guardian went live with a howler during their coverage of the Heathrow airport closure. They reported that the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS) cancelled 12 flights to and from Heathrow.
However, it was Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) that actually cancelled its flights. On a a Facebook post, the latter SAS had a field day, saying: 'We get it, Sky News and The Guardian – [we both have the] same initials, both wear uniforms, operate internationally and move fast.'
What better way to advertise ways to 'Make You Fluent' than to destroy the language with an ad that reads: 'Say Goodbye to Fear of Speaking New Language.' Looks like this one was custom made for The Spin.
We are looking for 10 volunteers who need to start speaking new language this month. No matter what.' If you think about it, what's the point of great copy, if the target audience doesn't understand it anyway?
We wind up this edition of the The Spin with an AI-generated Sciatica ad that seems more like a wind up. Is there a better way to get rid of the pain than chopping off the parts of the body responsible for it?
