Aldi “swap and save” ad banned after Asda challenges savings claim
Aldi’s “swap and save” TV ad, which encouraged viewers to swap from their usual supermarket to Aldi, has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after rival chain Asda complained it was misleading to consumers.
The ad featured a woman, Tracy, speaking directly to the camera saying: "So I was very pleasantly surprised at the variety - the fresh food, the meat, the fruit and veg - it's cheap and it's good.
"I think £45 a week is a lot of money given that we've got to spread it so thinly amongst so many things. So it's definitely worth doing for us. Meaning that we can go on an extra holiday a year."
Asda challenged the ad over five separate issues, as the retailer felt it would mislead customers because the type of products, including price promotions or product size included in the comparison, could not be verified.
Meanwhile the savings claim of £45 implied that savings achieved in one month would produce similar savings in the future when this could not be substantiated.
Aldi defended the ad, saying Asda had mistakenly interpreted the campaign as a price comparison. The retailer said the £45 figure had “clearly” not been arrived at by individual product price comparisons and the basis of the comparison of cost was by reference to Tracy's overall weekly spends at the two stores.
Aldi added that there was no reason to suggest, given the process followed, that the savings achieved were not typical and could not be repeated over a period of time.
However, the ASA concluded that the ad created a “misleading impression” of the overall benefit to viewers of shopping at Aldi stores rather than those of its competitors. It banned the advert from appearing in its current form and told Aldi to ensure that the basis for comparisons were made clear in their future ads.