The UK’s advertising watchdog has banned a Sainsbury’s Brand Match advert following a complaint by Asda over its wording.
The complaint was one of four made by rival retailer Asda against three press and one TV ad that Sainsbury’s ran in October for its Brand Match scheme.
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The television advert, which was upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), featured a father and son preparing breakfast with the voice-over stating: “We’ll even match their deals. Sainsbury’s Brand Match – Live Well for Less.”
Text at the bottom of the screen read: “Minimum spend GBP20. Buy at least one comparable branded product. If the same branded shop could have been bought for less at Asda or Tesco’s on the same day you will get a coupon for the difference.”
The ASA ruled the advert “misled” consumers about which stores were participating in the Brand Match scheme and it “did not make clear significant conditions of the price promise”.
In defence of the advert, Sainsbury’s argued that the participating stores were named in its terms and conditions and added that “all significant conditions” of the Brand Match price pledge were made clear in the ads.
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By GlobalDataThe ASA said that while it understood details of the main estate stores that were not participating were included on the website, it considered this “should have been made clearer” to consumers in the ad.
“Because we considered the qualification regarding participating stores was unclear and ambiguous, we concluded the TV ad was misleading,” it added.
The ASA concluded that the ads must not appear or be broadcast again in their current form.
“We told Sainsbury’s to make clear in the ads the limitations on participating stores,” it said.
