Aldi is hitting back at the price matching schemes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons, with a TV ad telling viewers ‘You can’t match this’.

The ad borrows the tune from MC Hammer’s 1990 hit U Can’t Touch This as a dad raps the new lyrics.

“There’s only one supermarket where every price is matched with Aldi,” says a voiceover.

Tesco has been running an Aldi price match campaign since 2020 and Sainsbury’s launched one in 2021. The campaigns extend to over 600 products in each retailer.

Asda and Morrisons followed suit with campaigns matching both Aldi and Lidl earlier this year, covering about 400 and 200 products respectively.

Aldi told The Grocer in April it had seen no direct evidence the price match schemes were benefiting rivals.

However, the discounter’s year-on-year sales growth has slowed drastically, from 17.1% in September 2023 to 2.2% in Kantar’s latest set of data, for May. Aldi’s market share is down year on year by a percentage point to 10%.

Lidl’s growth has held up much better, with Kantar pointing to its loyalty scheme and in-store bakeries as helping. Its sales climbed 9.4% in the 12 weeks to 12 May, giving it a market share of 8.1%, up from 7.7% a year earlier.

Aldi has no loyalty scheme and no bakeries across most of its store estate.

Aldi’s ad set to air at 7am on 24 May on ITV.

“The ad is part of a wider marketing campaign which aims to hammer home the message: Aldi prices can’t be matched,” said an Aldi spokesperson.

Following the launch, hundreds of retail price cuts will be promoted under a new ‘prices hammered’ strapline, alongside Aldi’s ‘wine of the week’ offer, which sees bestselling bottles reduced by up to 65%.

“Savvy swap and save suggestions will also be showcased, positioning products from Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s alongside cheaper alternatives from Aldi,” said the spokesperson.

Aldi UK marketing director Jemma Townsend said: “We’ve seen increased attempts from other supermarkets trying to match Aldi prices but there’s only one supermarket where every price is an Aldi price.

“Competitors promoting a small number of items will never give customers the full benefits of an Aldi priced shop. But it’s not just cheaper products shoppers get with us, it’s also award-winning and high-quality products.”

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