Shine OnBritish supermarket pulls horror-themed colouring books
For your child's next birthday, consider a colouring book featuring Carrie and Freddie Krueger.
In a rather embarrassing administrative error, British supermarket chain, Tesco, accidentally targeted children with a 16-page horror-themed colouring book on its webstore.
The 'Colour Me Good — ARRGGGHHHH!!' colouring book features drawings of infamous horror scenes from films like 'Psycho', 'A Clockwork Orange', 'Hellraiser', 'Misery' and 'The Shining'.
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Somehow, the book ended up being advertised for children ages five to eight on the supermarket's website, despite containing the phrase "more blood than you can shake a dagger at."
Chris Tuckwood, 56, discovered the inappropriate book on the site when he was looking for a birthday gift for his grandson.
"It was advertised as being suitable for kids from five to eight. I don't think so," he tells the Telegraph. "It is unbelievable that they can sell such a thing aimed at kids. I don't think I have to say why it's unsuitable, that much is obvious. Who on earth are they employing that thinks this is okay?"
Tesco has since apologized for the error and has pulled the book, by a third-party publishing brand, from its site.
"We have spoken to the seller to remind them of the importance of selecting the right category when listing products with us. Of course, when issues do arise we act quickly to ensure that the item is updated with the correct information," says a company spokesperson.
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The BBC reports that the third-party seller is online retailer Prezzybox. The company claims it usually lists the book as something that "may not be suitable for people under the age of 16" and blames an "administrative error" for the gaffe.
"It was an honest mistake on our part," says Prezzbox managing director Zak Edwards. "It was categorized as a colouring book and then, unfortunately, as being suitable for children."
The author of the book, Mel Elliot, insists she doesn't know how it ended up in the children's section, nor has the supermarket chain contacted her.
"They don't buy it from me," she tells the Independent, "it's bought from a third party so I honestly do not know how it ended up there. Perhaps it was because my products are quite difficult to categorize."
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"Firstly, and most importantly, my products are not aimed at kids. They are a contemporary, pop-culture inspired range that are aimed at playful grown-ups," Elliot tells the Telegraph.
Elliot's adult colouring books sell all over the world including other titles like 'Colour me Good Ryan Gosling' and 'Colour Me Good Kate [Moss]'. And while they're targeted at a grown-up audience, she says that her 4-year-old daughter enjoys colouring in the books.
"She loves them, and there are none that I stop her from using," she says. "Some parents tweeted me today and said they had bought titles for their seven-year-olds and they really enjoyed them."
Would you let your youngsters colour scenes from 'The Shining'?
