ASA Adjudication on Costcutter Supermarkets Group Ltd

Ad

A TV ad showed various family members, in need of carrots in the kitchen, dog food in the garden and shampoo in the bath, with a man from Costcutter appearing to supply them in each case. The voice-over stated "Is the big weekly shop draining your family finances? Then keep it local and get down to your nearest Costcutter. We've got money saving offers on your everyday essentials, like four per cent Stella Artois for just £3.49, or any two bottles of Coca Cola for just £2.30. And look, this twelve pack of Carling is only £7.29. Costcutter; fresh, local, and right up your street." The products on offer and their prices appeared on screen as they were mentioned.

Issue

The viewer objected to the reference in the ad to alcohol as a grocery shopping "everyday essential".

BCAP TV Code

Response

Costcutter said the term "everyday essentials" in the ad was a colloquial and generic term intended to portray to the viewer that there was a vast array of products on sale in Costcutter stores and those products could be purchased by Costcutter customers at any time.  They said the items shown in the ad were of the type purchased by consumers when shopping in a convenience store and the products shown in the ad following the phrase " ... money saving offers on your everyday essentials, like ..." were examples of items on which money saving offers were applicable and showed that customers could save money on some products in the Costcutter range.  They argued that these items were not portrayed as an exhaustive list and included the soft drink Coca Cola.  Costcutter believed the discounted items would be seen by the viewer in the wider context of the ad which displayed a broad range of product types.  They said the message of the ad was that there were a wide variety of items that could be purchased at Costcutter and, in addition, some of the items were on promotional offer.  They pointed out that, of the six grocery items featured in the ad, only two were alcohol products.  They asserted that it was not suggested or implied that any or all of the items in the ad should be purchased every day or were "essential" in a literal sense.  They further explained that, of all Costcutter advertising to date in 2008, only 20% included alcohol products.

Clearcast said they took great care to ensure the ad was compliant with the BCAP Code.  They did not consider that the ad was irresponsible or suggested that alcohol was indispensable.  They believed the ad merely suggested that Costcutter was a store that was good value and a convenient place to shop for regular, general groceries that people were familiar with and might buy frequently.

Clearcast believed it was reasonable to include alcohol amongst the featured products.  They did not think that most viewers would consider the description of alcohol as an "everyday essential" was irresponsible or implied that alcohol was a "must have" in a normal shop.  They considered most viewers would understand it to mean that the featured items were basic or standard food and drinks with which we are all familiar.  They said people would not view the items as essential staples but rather as recognisable brands that people knew and might buy on a relatively regular basis; they said it was for that reason they were referred to as everyday essentials.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted the term "everyday essentials" was intended to show that there was a wide range of products available from Costcutter stores and that some of those items were also offered at promotional prices. We acknowledged that Costcutter had not intended to imply that alcoholic drinks should be purchased every day or were essential in a literal sense.

We considered that, although the items were described as "everyday essentials", viewers would be likely to understand them to be general products that were purchased regularly by some consumers, not that they were indispensable to all or most consumers.  We concluded that viewers were unlikely to infer from the ad that the alcoholic drinks were indispensable.

We investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 11.8.1e  (Alcohol rules which apply to all advertising: indispensability), but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)