Typo promoting Vancouver Island Christmas parade appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers

Who would you rather get your photo taken with this holiday season: Santa or Satan?

A newspaper typo in the Comox Valley Record promoting a downtown Courtenay Christmas event has garnered attention from a major late-night television show.

What was supposed to be a simple advertisement for the town’s holiday event went viral after a typo invited children to take photos with “Satan” instead of Santa.

It appears the Valley I grew up in got a lot more metal since I moved away. If I didn't have too many books to read that say, I'd consider the trip for the picture with Satan.

Also, Captain Thunderpants is our local space pirate, because every town needs one. pic.twitter.com/ZDWLZlyOhN

— Kathy Trithardt ???? (@kathytrithardt) November 23, 2019

The blunder was featured on American talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers on Tuesday night.

“A newspaper in Canada ran a Christmas ad this week and misspelled Santa’s name as Satan,” Seth Meyers said.

Watch:

The amusing mistake was also picked up by daily newspaper New York Post, calling it a “typo from hell”.

“An image of the ad smoldered across the internet, prompting more laughter than fire and brimstone,” writers NYP author Tamar Lapin.

In the face of all this attention, the BlackPress-owned media outlet issued an editorial acknowledging and apologizing for their mistake.

“The same number of eyes proofed the ad as with anything that runs through the advertising and production departments.

Somehow, this was missed, and for that, we sincerely apologize – to the clients affected, as well as to any readers offended by the mistake.

As a newspaper, it is our responsibility to make sure the information we distribute is accurate – from the editorial department, as well as the advertising department.”

They end the editorial with a remark that while the typo was unfortunate, at least everyone now knows when the Courtenay Christmas parade is happening!