Tesco made a complaint last summer to the Advertising Standards Authority about an advertising campaign being run by its arch-rival. Asda had developed the campaign after grabbing the top accolade in The Grocer 33 pricing survey for the seventh year in a row.
Now, after some12 months of deliberation, the Authority has ruled in favour of Tesco, saying that Asda could not use the results of The Grocer 33 to claim it was ‘officially’ the cheapest supermarket in Britain.
However, while a bitter war of words has been raging at the ASA for the past 12 months over the relative merits of that claim, it has proved largely academic because Asda completely changed its advertising slogan earlier this summer after coming top in our survey for the eighth year in a row.
Nevertheless, Tesco said it was “delighted” by the ASA’s ruling.
But Asda managed to turn this week’s events into a major PR coup - winning valuable column inches and airtime to explain its pricing strategy. Its marketing director Chris Pilling said: “Officially or unofficially, the facts remain the same - we are cheaper than Tesco. It’s funny how the only survey in which Tesco ever appears cheaper is the one they do themselves on their own web site.”
The Grocer’s editor Julian Hunt said: “We are bemused by all this as it relates to events that took place more than a year ago and Asda has already changed its advertising.”
He added: “We stand by the results of The Grocer 33.
“Basket surveys are a widely accepted tool for making price comparisons. And ours is based on robust methodology, it is completely independent and is well respected across the retail industry. In any case, even before Tesco lodged its complaint we had completely overhauled and relaunched our survey - making it bigger and even better than before. Based on the results of our new-look survey Asda was again the cheapest between June 2004 and June this year.”
The year-long war of words between Tesco and Asda underlines the fierce nature of the competition between the big supermarket chains - and how price has become key in what is now a sluggish retail market.
That fact is borne out by our various surveys. For instance, The Grocer Price Index shows prices remain under pressure - despite huge hikes in manufacturing costs in recent months.
The Grocer found itself at the centre of a media storm this week - as a fierce row between Asda and Tesco over who is the country’s cheapest supermarket hit the headlines.
Now, after some12 months of deliberation, the Authority has ruled in favour of Tesco, saying that Asda could not use the results of The Grocer 33 to claim it was ‘officially’ the cheapest supermarket in Britain.
However, while a bitter war of words has been raging at the ASA for the past 12 months over the relative merits of that claim, it has proved largely academic because Asda completely changed its advertising slogan earlier this summer after coming top in our survey for the eighth year in a row.
Nevertheless, Tesco said it was “delighted” by the ASA’s ruling.
But Asda managed to turn this week’s events into a major PR coup - winning valuable column inches and airtime to explain its pricing strategy. Its marketing director Chris Pilling said: “Officially or unofficially, the facts remain the same - we are cheaper than Tesco. It’s funny how the only survey in which Tesco ever appears cheaper is the one they do themselves on their own web site.”
The Grocer’s editor Julian Hunt said: “We are bemused by all this as it relates to events that took place more than a year ago and Asda has already changed its advertising.”
He added: “We stand by the results of The Grocer 33.
“Basket surveys are a widely accepted tool for making price comparisons. And ours is based on robust methodology, it is completely independent and is well respected across the retail industry. In any case, even before Tesco lodged its complaint we had completely overhauled and relaunched our survey - making it bigger and even better than before. Based on the results of our new-look survey Asda was again the cheapest between June 2004 and June this year.”
The year-long war of words between Tesco and Asda underlines the fierce nature of the competition between the big supermarket chains - and how price has become key in what is now a sluggish retail market.
That fact is borne out by our various surveys. For instance, The Grocer Price Index shows prices remain under pressure - despite huge hikes in manufacturing costs in recent months.
The Grocer found itself at the centre of a media storm this week - as a fierce row between Asda and Tesco over who is the country’s cheapest supermarket hit the headlines.
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