ASDA Stores Ltd Asda House Great Wilson Street Leeds LS11 5AD Number of complaints: 1

Date: 17 September 2008 Media: Television, National press Sector: Retail Agency: Gratterpalm

Ad
a. A national press ad for Asda showed a large arrow pointing to a smaller arrow.  Text inside the large arrow stated "Asda 2916 products cheaper."  Text inside the smaller arrow stated "Tesco 962 products cheaper."  A large box below the arrows stated "Yep, we've done it again.  The independent price checker says so.  ASDA."  Smaller text underneath the large box stated "This week, independent comparison site mySupermarket.co.uk checked prices for all 7564 same brand/size products on both Tesco and Asda websites - there's no place like ASDA."

b. A TV ad began with a caption at the bottom of the screen that stated "mySupermarket.co.uk.  PRICES CHECKED 18/02/08."  The ad then showed large and small arrows similar to those in the press ad.  Text inside the smaller arrow stated "Tesco 962 products cheaper."  Text inside the larger arrow stated "Asda 2916 products cheaper."  Voice-over stated "This week, independent price checker mySupermarket.co.uk found that Tesco were cheaper on 962 products.  Not bad until you discover that the same independent price checker found Asda were cheaper on more than three times as many.  Asda.  Why pay more?"  Large text in the centre of the screen stated "ASDA.  WHY PAY MORE?"

Issue
Tesco challenged whether:

1. the press ad and

2. the TV ad were misleading because they believed the prices mySupermarket.co.uk had used for the purposes of the comparison were lower in many cases than the prices charged in Asda stores or to online shoppers.

Tesco also challenged whether:

3.  the press ad and

4.  the TV ad were misleading for suggesting that the comparative figures were accurate for an entire week when that was not the case.

The CAP Code:	3.1;7.1;18.1;18.3;19.1
BCAP TV Advertising Code:	5.1;5.4.6;5.2.1

Response
1. & 2. Asda said mysupermarket.co.uk were an independent company who took online pricing data from all of the four major supermarkets and produced pricing information on identical branded products. They understood that information was then independently verified and formed the basis of price comparison claims made by the major supermarkets. Asda stated that they operated a national pricing policy and that prices on their website were identical to in-store prices. They said that, although the investigated ad did not state a disclaimer, other ads before and after it had stated "online prices may vary from in-store." They said that was a standard disclaimer in case errors occurred. Asda supplied a copy of the price comparison data mysupermarket had provided on which their price comparison claim was based. Asda believed the data mysupermarket published on 18 February was collated over the weekend of 16 February. They said as many as 3,000 price reductions were actioned over a weekend on their website and in store in time for when stores opened on Monday. They said it was possible that some shelf-edge labels might continue to show the previous, higher price but customers at the till would always be charged the new, lower price.

Regarding the TV ad, Clearcast said they were satisfied that the comparison was a fair and genuine one of the pricing of both Asda and Tesco; that mysupermarket's methodology was sound and that the ad was not misleading. Clearcast supplied the price comparison information they had seen to support the claim. They said they had also received the pricing information referred to by Asda above. They said the ad was one of several similar ones for Asda that they had approved over consecutive weeks. They said their understanding was that Asda's online and in-store prices were identical to those in the comparison data and that there were no significant price changes after the comparison was made.

3. & 4. Asda said the price checks for the press ad were made on the same date as was stated in the TV ad. They said the date the prices were checked was omitted from the press ad due to an error and that that error would be rectified in future press ads. They said that, although the price checks were made on one day only, Asda had since obtained similar data for the days that followed (Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 February), which they believed showed Asda's prices were lower than Tesco's for those days also.

Regarding the TV ad, Clearcast believed the on-screen text "PRICES CHECKED 18/02/08" made clear to viewers when the checks were made and that there was a historical element to them. They believed the warning was sufficient to prevent the ad becoming misleading should, for instance, any slight, limited and unavoidable price variations occur or any items become de-listed while the ad was on air. Clearcast did not believe viewers expected prices to remain static for the entire time the ad was on air but considered that the broad principle that Asda had more cheaper, identical products than Tesco remained accurate. They said the ad was not transmitted for more than seven days.

Assessment
1. & 2. Upheld
The ASA noted that the ads identified the name of the independent company that had made the price checks and stated that the company had checked Asda and Tescos' website prices and used them for the basis of the claim. We noted Asda's statement that they operated a national pricing policy; that prices on their website were identical to their in-store prices and that ads before and after the investigated ad contained what Asda described as a standard disclaimer that online prices might vary from those in-store in case of error. We also noted their response that it was possible some shelf-edge labels might continue to show the previous, higher price but customers at the till would be charged the new, lower price. We noted that neither Asda nor Tesco had provided till receipts or similarly definitive proof that showed the prices charged when the products were purchased in-store, but that Tesco had supplied data, also compiled by an independent company, that compared prices by scanning shelf bar codes. According to that data, approximately 100 products cited as being cheaper at Asda were cheaper at Tesco, and approximately 50 further products cited as being cheaper at Asda were priced equally at Tesco.

We considered that, although the ads made it clear that the claim was based on a comparison of website prices, customers were likely to expect to be able to obtain those savings whether shopping in-store or online. In light of the data Tesco supplied, and in the absence of till receipt evidence (or similar), we considered Asda's evidence did not conclusively prove the specific claim that 2,916 products were cheaper at Asda than they were at Tesco. We concluded that the claim was not substantiated and that the ads were misleading.

On point 1 the press ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) 18.1 and 18.3 (Comparative claims) and 19.1 (Other comparisons).

On point 2 the TV ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence) and 5.4.6 (Comparative advertising).

3. Upheld
We noted that the date the prices were checked was omitted from the press ad due to an error and welcomed Asda's assurance that that error would be rectified in future press ads. We also noted that Asda had provided price comparison data for the three days that followed the price check, which they believed showed Asda's prices were lower than Tesco's for those days also. For the reasons stated in 1 and 2 above, however, we did not consider Asda had shown that the pricing information they had used for the comparison was accurate. In the absence of data to show when the price checks took place, we considered the ad suggested the claim was valid for the entire time it appeared, but that Asda had not demonstrated that was the case. We therefore concluded that the ad was misleading.

On this point the press ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 18.1 and 18.3 (Comparative claims) and 19.1 (Other comparisons).

4. Not upheld
We noted that the TV ad stated "PRICES CHECKED 18/02/08." Although the voice-over stated "This week ..." we considered viewers were likely to understand that the price check was a snapshot taken on a single day and that prices in the competitive supermarket sector might not remain static. Notwithstanding our concerns that the data did not support the claim about the number of products that were cheaper at Asda than they were at Tesco, we considered the statement "PRICES CHECKED 18/02/08" made the date of the price check clear and did not consider that any other element of the ad suggested the price comparison claim was necessarily valid for the entire week the ad was shown.

On this point we investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 5.1 (Misleading advertising) but did not find it in breach.

Action
The press ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Asda to remove it and to ensure they held suitable evidence before making price comparisons in future. We told them to consult the CAP Copy Advice team before publishing any future comparative ads.

The TV ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)