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ISIS Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer has 'no plans' to rebrand Isis toiletry range after Twitter Jihadi quip

By Angela Haggerty, Reporter

September 3, 2014 | 2 min read

Marks & Spencer has confirmed it will not rebrand its range of Isis toiletries despite social media users picking up on the unfortunate name clash with rising terror group Islamic State, which is known by the same name.

Twitter users latched onto a famous M&S tagline to point out the range, saying: “These are not just Jihadi toiletries, these are M&S Jihadi toiletries.”

When contacted by the Drum, an M&S spokesperson explained that the perfume and body spray range was around 25 years old and the company was confident that the brand was recognisable in its own right.

“There are no plans to withdraw or change the name,” the spokesperson said. “The name is inspired by the Egyptian goddess Isis and is used a lot.”

The profile of the Islamic terror group has grown in recent weeks and months in western news coverage, particularly since the gruesome killings of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

Last week, PR firm Bell Pottinger was forced to publicly deny it had been hired by Isis after a satirical website joked it had agreed a $10m deal.

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