A horror movie coloring-book aimed at “good colourer-inners (as well as beginners)” has been withdrawn from the website of British supermarket chain Tesco. The company, which is called “Fresh and Easy” in America, is “the second-largest retailer, measured by profits, in the world.”
The book, Colour Me Good: Arrggghhhh!!, promises “really scary stuff” and “more blood than you can shake a dagger at,” and depicts scenes from such classic horror films as Psycho, The Shining, A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Clockwork Orange and Carrie.
Tesco was apparently selling Colour Me Good: Arrggghhhh!! as suitable for children ages five-to-eight, which led to criticism and the book’s subsequent withdrawal. Tesco claimed the book had been placed on its website by a third party retailer. A spokesperson for the company said:
“We have very clear guidelines for third-party sellers who list items on our website, and are sorry that on this occasion they weren’t followed.
“We will be speaking with the seller to remind them of the importance of selecting the right category when listing products with us.”
The book’s publisher, Mel Elliott of I Love Mel told the Daily Telegraph:
“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.
“I was unaware that Tesco were a stockist as a separate distribution company deal with wholesale of my products. The front cover of ‘Colour Me Good Arrggghhhh!!’ features a drawing from the horror movie, ‘Psycho’ in which a woman is stabbed to death in the shower. I believe that this one image is a fairly large clue that this is not a book aimed at children. However, it does state on Tesco’s website that my products are aimed at five to eight year olds, which is an error on their part.”
The product has now been removed from Tesco’s website.
Colour Me Good: Arrggghhhh!! is still available from I Love Mel (where you can view all of the coloring-in pages), or from Amazon.
Via ‘Daily Telegraph’ and ‘I Love Mel’