Asda has been ordered to change its “misleading” price guarantee adverts following complaints from rival supermarkets .
The retailer’s original price guarantee advertising promised to refund customers the difference during their next shop if they found groceries cheaper at the other major supermarket chains.
However, Tesco and Morrisons complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the ads were misleading as they suggested that Asda was generally cheaper than its main competitors, despite the including groceries and non-food items which they claim were excluded from the price comparison .
Asda responded to the complaints by insisting that their methodology for comparing prices between the retailers was robust, accurate and supported by Clearcast, which approves ads before they go on TV.
But the ASA upheld, or partly upheld, four of the nine complaints against the Walmart-owned retailer, after ruling that it failed to make it clear that the price guarantee did not apply to non-grocery products that appeared prominently in the ads.
A statement from the advertising watchdog said: “We told Asda to ensure their ads did not suggest their price guarantee applied to all items, including non-grocery items and items that were specifically excluded, or that their savings claims referred to shopping generally rather than specific items, if that was not the case.”
The ASA ruled that the five adverts involving the Asda Price Guarantee tagline must not appear again in their current form.
Asda said it was satisfied with the outcome and remains committed to the Asda Price Guarantee and its recently launched 10 per cent cheaper price promise.
