THE YEAST extract spread Marmite is famous for its ‘love it or hate it’ slogan, and now the polarising paste has left a bad taste in the mouth of one second-generation Irishman.
With personalised jars launched last month as a perfect Christmas gift for Marmite lovers, Ronan MacManus thought he’d order some for his Marmite-loving family.
However when the singer with London Irish band BibleCode Sundays logged on to Marmite’s Facebook page, which hosted an app for personalising your jar, he was stunned to see part of his name asterisked out and a message informing him to try again after “profanity was detected in [his] name”.
The message that appeared after MacManus tried putting in his surnameDespite proving a pain in the backside for the singer — who is the son of late musician Ross MacManus and brother of Elvis Costelloe — he admitted he saw the funny side and revealed he was oblivious to the rude connotations of his surname until adulthood, when he formed a group with his brothers.
“I was in a band with four of my brothers and we were looking for a new name,” he explained. “So we knocked the ‘Mac’ off our surname and called the band Manus. We were playing in a pub in Richmond where they had a chalkboard showing who was playing that week, and someone had comically rubbed off the ‘M’. Before that I’d honestly never noticed.”
The Irish Post emailed Marmite for clarification on whether the block on 'MacManus' could be lifted and is waiting for a response. However with the app no longer available on the spread's Facebook site, fans can only get their hands on a personalised jar at the Marmite pop-up stand at Westfield in London's White City.
Despite blocking MacManus because of its last four letters, the app permitted other ‘rude’ words when they were included within names. So the Sextons, Titmarshes and Cockburns of this world could get their hands on a personalised jar, likewise fans of Arsenal football club.
However others who would miss out along with MacManus include former MP Ed Balls, actress Samantha Janus, cricketer Roger Clitheroe — and of course anyone from Scunthorpe, who may have been hoping to honour their town in Marmite form.
