Aldi advert labelled ‘misleading and disingenuous’
German discounter Aldi is facing sharp criticism of its latest UK advertising campaign after a senior researcher at Bernstein Research labelled it ‘misleading and disingenuous’.
In the promotion Aldi compared the combined cost of a basket of its own-brand goods versus an equivalent basket of market-leading brands at Morrison’s to highlight the savings of a switch in shopping habits.
This allowed Aldi to claim that its basket would cost just £11.43 whilst at Morrison’s the same goods would cost £18.19 but the approach met with scorn from Bernstein Research’s senior analyst Bruno Monteyne, who described the campaign as ‘misleading and disingenuous’ for failing to compare like for like by pulling out Morrison’s own value ranges.
Monteyne said: “Using a comparison between own-label products and branded to suggest Aldi prices are cheaper is misleading and disingenuous. Every supermarket has private label and branded items as well and they could claim a similar difference in their own store. We all know private label goods are cheaper than branded."
Defending the campaign an Aldi spokesperson said: “We believe the comparison is fair and our products are comparable to brands in terms of quality.
"The fact is that customers wouldn’t be coming to us in their droves if the product quality wasn’t comparable. Our commitment is simple, on brand or own label, we won’t be beaten on price. We will always be the cheapest.”