Two Lidl adverts claiming shoppers could make big savings compared with Tesco have been banned after a complaint from the rival discounter Aldi.
The advertising watchdog said it was banning the ads, one of which claimed it was possible to save more than 35% and another 30% compared with Tesco prices on a range of Scottish-themed products, as they were “likely to mislead”.
It said it did not consider that the ads, which ran in Scotland, made it “sufficiently clear” that the savings related only to the specific selection of products shown.
“We considered consumers (in Scotland) would be likely to understand the savings referred to price differences offered by the two supermarkets more widely, rather than being specific only to the example basket of goods, and that the same level of savings could be achieved more generally in a typical weekly shop,” the Advertising Standards Authority said in a statement.
“Because we had not seen evidence that this general level of savings could ordinarily be achieved, we considered the ads were likely to mislead.”
Lidl said the ads were specific comparisons of the products shown and it did not believe the average consumer could not reasonably conclude that its prices were generally cheaper than Tesco’s.
The ban reprises a battle over pricing claims between Aldi, Lidl and Tesco three years after similar rulings against both the German discounters in relation to price comparisons with the UK’s biggest supermarket.
A Tesco ad which claimed its Exclusively at Tesco ranges were cheaper than both Aldi and Lidl was also banned and deemed misleading in 2019 as it did not make clear the products were not available in smaller stores.
An earlier series of ads in 2016, in which Aldi claimed shoppers could make big savings compared with the “big four” supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – were also banned as misleading.
The revival of the battle over price claims comes as shoppers look for savings amid a surge in the cost of living with rapid inflation in household energy bills, petrol prices and food costs.
The latest industry data indicates that families have begun turning to the discounters in an attempt to save money, handing Aldi and Lidl a bigger share of the weekly shop.
