UK ad watchdog rules against Asda's price guarantee ads
02 Feb 2011
British supermarket chain Asda has been pulled up by the UK advertising watchdog for advertisements relating to its price guarantee scheme, after complaints from rivals Tesco and Morrisons.
Asda's price guarantee scheme offered to refund users if they found their groceries cheaper elsewhere.
"She grabs a basket, knowing shopping's changed because for the first time if it could've cost her less elsewhere we'd give her the difference off her next shop. It's the new Asda price guarantee and it's for every single one of you," the ad by the Wall-Mart subsidiary said.
Tesco and Morrisons argued that the Asda's contention that its prices were generally cheaper than the two supermarkets and Sainsbury's was misleading as they believed there were significant exclusions from the price comparison.
Asda, on its part, said its process for comparing was fair and accurate, and its ads did state that the scheme was applicable on comparable grocery products only.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld four of the nine complaints against the supermarket chain, saying that the ads were not clear when it came to portraying the price offer was only applicable on grocery items as they featured other items retailed by the chain like books and football-related items.
