Tesco ad ban due to internal 'communications error'
A national press advert for Tesco has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority following a complaint by ASDA citing an internal 'communications error’, while ASDA has itself escaped a ban for a recent TV campaign, following a complaint by Sainsbury’s.
The Tesco advert presented a selection of fresh food, comparing their Tesco prices and the prices of the same or equivalent product at ASDA.
The advert stated that "Total Tesco Saving £4.91" and "One place you won't find your fresh food for the weekend? In the Asda Price Guarantee".
ASDA questioned whether Tesco’s claim about the ASDA price guarantee was misleading and could be substantiated, providing information that showed that fresh products, including 13 of the 20 shown within the Tesco advert, were including in its price guarantee.
Tesco admitted that the advert was the result of an ‘internal communications error’ and that the pricing details check by the Tesco advertising team had mistakenly believed that the products were not covered by ASDA’s price guarantee offer.
Tesco apologised for the error, with the ASA choosing to uphold the complaint that the advert was misleading and ruled that it should not run again in its current form.
Meanwhile, a complaint by Sainsbury about ASDA’s TV campaign which included a voiceover claiming that it was 10% cheaper than other big supermarkets, or offering to refund the difference, has escaped censure.
The advert also included on-screen text that read “mySupermarket.co.uk and independent data, exclusions apply. Vs Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s & Waitrose. Min purchase 8 items including 1 comparable. Conditions apply. Voucher required. Verification on website. Powered by mySupermarket.co.uk”.
Sainsbury’s claimed that the advert was misleading as it understood that the price guarantee excluded a number of ‘everyday’ products. ASDA however said that out of the 26 products that Sainsbury’s said were not covered by the offer, five had been out of stock at Sainsbury’s meaning that mySupermarket.co.uk was unable to find them, and that 21 were not directly comparable with a product at ASDA.
However, ASDA claimed that all products met with compatibility criteria covered by the price guarantee and that more than 14,000 products were included in the offer.
The ASA did not uphold the complaint, concluding that the price guarantee did not exclude a number of ‘everyday’ products and were not misleading.