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The Grand Tour's #amazonshitcarshow campaign has Twitter users in stitches

The social media campaign for the third season of Amazon’s The Grand Tour has become an unexpected viral hit – and fans can’t decide if it was deliberate or not.

Twitter users were able to read the promoted hashtag ‘amazonshitcarshow’ in two very different ways, one far less complimentary than the other.

In a promotional clip shared ahead of the show’s launch, Amazon shared a clip in which presenters Richard Hammond and James May joined forces to ‘choose’ a slogan for the third series, while their colleague Jeremy Clarkson drives through the Alps.

Eventually, they decide upon a phrase that is “snappy, plain talking, simple, clear.”

“It’s punchy and it says what we are,” they add.

When the hashtag landed on Twitter, however, social media users were quick to point out a potential problem.

“Now read that hashtag back nice and slowly…,” one tweet advised.

“Er, this could be read two ways…,” another pointed out.

“Don’t think Amazon thought that hashtag through properly!” one user suggested.

Others, however, guessed that the streaming service was definitely in on the joke, looking to recreate the (accidental) viral success of the infamous #susanalbumparty Twitter launch.

“Nicely done Amazon, nicely done!” one fan praised.

“Everyone, I think the unfortunate hashtag may be deliberate,” another weighed in.

Indeed, when one tweeter advised the brand to lose the ‘s’ from their hashtag, the show’s official account played along, responding: “Then you would lose the possessive case and that would be grammatically incorrect.”

Some dedicated fans saw the campaign as an example of the Grand Tour trio’s sense of humour, with one writing: “Hammond, May & Clarkson have always been able to laugh at themselves.”

“Yes annoying to some but #amazonshitcarshow shows they still have life in them yet, can’t wait to watch @thegrandtour after work.”

The first episode of The Grand Tour’s third series is available to stream on Amazon Prime now.