Dr Oetker has had its wrist slapped by the UK advertising watchdog after the body found an ad in which it compared its Chicago Town pizza with Domino’s was “misleading”.
The ad was challenged by a viewer who said the claim “voted no.1 vs Domino’s” was misleading and questioned if it could be substantiated.
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Dr Oetker asked 170 respondents to taste its pizza against Pizza Hut and Domino’s and select preferences based on taste description and price. Of the sample, 39% chose Chicago Town, 37% Pizza Hut and 24% Domino’s.
“From the data presented it was not possible to tell which of the other pizzas (Chicago Town or Domino’s) this 37% of participants would have selected in a head-to-head test and we therefore considered it was misleading to imply that Chicago Town had beaten Domino’s in a head-to-head test,” the Advertising Standards Authority said in a ruling issued today (30 July).
In addition, the body pointed out only one flavour ad been tested. Dr Oetker was instructed not to air the ad again in its current form.
A spokesperson for Dr Oetker told just-food today: “The complaint was upheld as the ASA state that the specific variety tested (pepperoni) should have been made clearer. This was the only variety shown in the advert with the terms and conditions clearly stating ‘test on one variant’. We also acknowledge that we did not reveal the other pizza included in the taste test as Pizza Hut double pepperoni stuffed crust and instead referred to them as competitor A.”
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