Asda sign: Rui Vieira/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Asda has been in trouble with the Advertising Standards Authority for an advert that used a comparison of the numbers of different products which were cheaper than at Argos.

We're all familiar with these adverts - all the supermarkets use them - so what was wrong with this one, and can we trust them?


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The complaint

The advert, broadcast in October, was comparing the price of electronic goods with those at Argos. It said "Last Thursday, an independent price checker confirmed that ASDA had this many branded products cheaper than Argos ..." Tags appeared on a cartoon of two gift-wrapped boxes; the tag on the larger box stated "ASDA 551 Cheaper" and the tab on the smaller box stated "Argos 139 Cheaper".

The voiceover continued: "... Including all these great electronics brands", and the box tagged "ASDA 551 Cheaper" unwrapped to reveal the logos of a number of electronic brands.

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Argos complained, arguing that its figures from the same day showed the stores had 1191 identical branded products, of which Argos was cheaper on 336. In addition, they complained that the reference to the electronic brands was unfair because the advert didn't say how many of them were cheaper at each shop - and they thought some were cheaper at Argos.

Asda defended its advert, saying that the price comparison, undertaken by a business called Skuudle, had been clearly reproduced, and details had been provided.

Different data

The issue here was that the retailers were using different sets of data - based on different things. The ASA summed up the issue as: "We understood from the sets of data from Argos and Skuudle, and from the Skuudle process document, that there were significant differences in the way they had made their comparisons, which could at least in part account for the differences in results."

There were a number of technical differences, such as the fact that Argos collated the details five hours earlier. It also included some products which were out of stock or discontinued. Skuudle excluded products where delivery or installation were included in the Argos price, and in some instances did not make comparisons where the colours were different. It also excluded ranges which were sold together in Argos and not in Asda.

ASA added: "Argos had, in at least a few instances, compared products which were not the same."

Misleading claims

The differences meant that ASA just looked at whether the claims were correct based on the data and communicated clearly - rather on whether the data itself was correct.

In this Asda fell short - because the exclusions were not clear. One concern was that products were only made with the goods available on Asda's website, which hadn't been clear - particularly when the advert showed a woman in an Asda store.

There was also an issue of colour, as Asda's terms on its website said products which were identical but for colour were included in the comparisons. However, this wasn't the case when it came to comparing the price of large appliances and toys. It also said that excluding whole ranges sold together, and those where delivery, installation or recycling were part of the deal may have been a reasonable approach, but were significant enough exclusions that they should have been made clear in the advert.

It concluded: "Because significant limitations and qualifications to the basis of the price comparison were not included in the ad, or in the terms and conditions on Asda's website, we concluded the ad breached the Code."

As for the issue of the claims referring to electronic brands, the ASA reviewed Skuudle's price comparison data and noted that 65 products were attributed to the brands shown in the advert, and that Asda was cheaper for all products from three of those brands. However, Argos was cheaper than Asda on some products from the other six brands. Because Asda was not cheaper on all products from the featured brands, it concluded the claim had not been substantiated and was misleading.

Confusing adverts

And while this in itself is worrying enough, it raises the issue of all those other adverts which feature price comparisons. It's quite clear that these aren't as straightforward as they seem, because how else could we see two adverts next to each other, both claiming that they are the cheapest based on comparison data?

As this ruling shows, the differences in data may well come from the fact that different companies compare different things and that they have different exclusions. In the past Morrisons has been in trouble with the ASA for comparing items it was selling on promotion with those at full price elsewhere. Asda meanwhile has been in trouble for not making clear that it's price promise applied to a limited range of goods.

Confusion often comes from the wording of the advert. Some may claim to be cheaper on a representative basket of food, others on branded groceries, or the most common trolley-full of food. Supermarkets are free to use whichever comparison works best for them - leaving us all in the dark.

According to a survey by Which?, a third of people find price comparison adverts annoying, while nearly four in ten think they are misleading.

So what do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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