New Brunswick's Department of Tourism and Parks is a little red — as in embarrassed — over a spelling error in one of its television commercials promoting the beauty of the province's fall colours.

The ad points out the richness of the colours of New Brunswick scenery by superimposing the names of colours such as vermilion and mahogany over images of autumn leaves.

However, the word "mahogany" is misspelled as "mahagany."

Fredericton-area resident Eric Johnson saw the commercial twice, and said he couldn't believe his eyes. "I guess the message we're sending out is: Come to New Brunswick, where we can't spell."

New Maryland resident Joy Mansen also saw the commercials, and said the error is appalling. "I am astounded by the fact that this must have crossed many bureaucratic desks and nobody picked up the typo or thought to check on the word."

Department spokeswoman Danielle McFarlane said it was a simple error made by the advertising agency that sent the commercial out to television stations across the Maritimes. She said the mistake was caught during proofing but the wrong version was sent out.

'"The final version of the ad had the correct spelling of mahogany," McFarlane said. "Unfortunately, when the ad was sent out to stations, the wrong version was sent."

The commercials were created and distributed by the Moncton ad agency M5.

McFarlane said the department has been fielding calls about the spelling error but hopes the public will accept the explanation: "It's simply a case of human error."

She said the department noticed the error the first time the commercial was broadcast and requested the ad be pulled. The commercial ran on various stations throughout the region over a few days earlier this week.
McFarlane says the government will continue to work with the agency that made the mistake.