Union Jack Tastic

This is one of the few products available in UK just now that does not have a flag on it.

Two for £7, a right royal bargain, ma'am

You may not have noticed but the Union Jack* is experiencing a renaissance. The marketing boys have stuck it on just about everything to commemorate HMQ’s 60 years at the top of our national flagpole. The message here is in-your-face ‘THESE ARE BRITISH’:

But of course you should not take this too literally

For the hard of hearing, the label reads:
RED PEPPERS, ORIGIN SPAIN

I thought that Mornflakes would be cornflakes but they turn out to be porridge oats, a sort of reminder that (for the time being) Scotland is part of this arrangement. 

 

I have yet to find a product identified as coming from Wales. Neither was Northern Ireland represented in this very staw-poll, but of course it is still a political hot potato so probably not surprising that they do not make a big thing of it. Talking of potatoes here are some British Maris Piper.

 

And on the subject of confusing things origine Francais
 

 

 But to restore some semblance of order Britain’s favourite dish is also flying the flag.

Talking of pesky foreigners, Tabasco is a town in Mexico, though the peppery sauce is made in Louisianna which is named for Louis XIV (King of France from 1643–1715). Whichever way you look at it it hasn't had much to do with Her Maj since 1776.

At least they had the decency to
put include some diamonds.

The flag itself seems to come in three main varieties.

Regular

Distressed

Retro

Retro involves printing the flag on a yellowish paper making it look like a flag from the 1930s and reminiscent of the days of Empire.

I would have thought HP would have got in there...

...but no (well, not yet)

And being dead is no bar to participation in this merchandising frenzy

A little sidelined but not entirely forgotten

And these guys just missed the point altogether

 

 As well as the flag itself there are a number of flag-based interpretations:

 

 For some Red, White and Blue is a little passé

 

But apparently this is alright as the London Olympics (whose crap commerciality has exceeded the expectations of even  the most confirmed cynic) decided to leave the red out of the flag as well. But that is a digression...

Another digression is the Euro football thing which also has stacks of merchandise on the high street, but it only features the English flag as, I am reliably informed, the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish teams never made it past the qualifying round.

To relieve the flag-waving monotony there have been a few attempts at humour:

Hmmm...

Brat Kit...

And presumably for that loyal toast.

Which ever way you look at it, you just gotta love it (or hate it). 

* Ammunition for a dreary debate about whether the flag is called the Union Jack or Union Flag  can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Flag where there are arguments to support just about every option.