The complaint was about a Tesco advertisement claiming consumers would "never pay more for your branded shop" compared to other supermarkets. The small print stated there was a minimum basket of 10 different branded products. Sainsbury's challenged whether this made the minimum purchase restriction sufficiently clear. Tesco believed the ad communicated the price match scheme clearly and that consumers understand minimum spends generally apply to such schemes. However, the ASA ruled the ad was misleading as it did not draw adequate attention to the minimum basket size restriction in the main body of the ad.

1. Regulatory body
How is the ASA funded?
The ASA isfundedbyadvertisersthroughanarm’slengtharrangementthatguaranteesthe ASA’s
independence.
Collectedbythe AdvertisingStandardsBoardof Finance (Asbof) andthe BroadcastAdvertising
Standards Board of Finance (Basbof),the 0.1% levyonthe cost of buyingadvertisingspace andthe
0.2% levyonsome directmail ensuresthe ASA isadequatelyfundedtokeepUKadvertising
standardshigh.We also receive asmall income fromchargingforsome seminarsandpremium
industryadvice services.We receivenoGovernmentfundingandtherefore ourworkisfree tothe
tax payer.
The levysystemmeansthe ASA hasthe necessaryresourcestohandle more than30,000 complaints
each yearand independentlycheckthousandsof adseveryyear.Inaddition,the fundingsupports
CAP’sCopyAdvice service whichprovidespre-publicationadvice toadvertisers,agenciesandthe
media.The separate fundingmechanismensuresthatthe ASA doesnotknow whichadvertisers
choose to fundthe systemorthe amounttheycontribute.The levyisthe onlypartof the system
that isvoluntary.Advertiserscanchoose topay the levy,buttheycannotchoose to complywiththe
AdvertisingCodesorthe ASA’srulings.
I foundthisinformationat https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/Funding.aspx
What exactly does the ASA do?
The AdvertisingStandardsAuthority(ASA) isthe UK’sindependentregulatorof advertisingacrossall
media.
Our purpose and ambition
Our purpose isto make advertisementsresponsible andourambitionistomake everyUKad a
responsible ad.
What we do is important
We’re passionate aboutwhatwe dobecause responsible advertisementsare goodforpeople,
societyandadvertisers.
The five strands of our strategy
1 Understanding: We’ll be an authority on advertising and active on issues that cause
societal concern. We’ll be open to calls for regulatory change, acting purposefully and in a
timely fashion, while being fair and balanced in our assessment of the evidence and
arguments
2 Support: We’ll provide support to advertisers to help them create responsible ads. We’ll
increase, improve and better target our advice and training so every business has access to
the information and support it needs
3 Impact: We’ll spend more time on matters that make the biggest difference. Focussing on
our existing remit, we’ll spend less time tackling ads that cause little detriment to
consumers or on the vulnerable. But, where a complaint indicates that the rules have been
broken, we will always do something

2. 4 Proactive: We’ll be proactive and work with others. We’ll use a wide range of information
to identify and tackle problems to make sure ads are responsible, even if we haven’t
officially received a complaint.
5 Awareness: We’ll increase awareness of the ASA and CAP. We will make sure that the
public, civil society and the industry know who we are and what we can do, so they can
engage with us when they need to, and have confidence in our work.
Read our detailed strategy document, which outlines the case for change.
Our shared values are to be:
- Consistent and proportionate
- Reliable and ethical
- Fair and respectful to all
- Accessible and helpful
- Intelligent and thorough, but also timely and proportionate
- Open and accountable, acting with integrity and never being afraid to admit when we’re
wrong
- An excellent team, inspiring excellence in each other
Our external stakeholders will also find us:
Independent in administering the Advertising Codes
Evidence-based, targeted and consistent
Reflective of society, not a social engineer
I found this information at https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/Strategy.aspx
How does self-regulation of non-broadcast advertising work?
Self-regulationmeansthatthe industryhasvoluntarilyestablishedandpaidforitsownregulation.
The systemworksbecause itispoweredanddrivenbya sense of corporate social responsibility
amongstthe advertisingindustry.Advertisershave aninterestinmaintainingthe systembecause:
Making sure that consumersare notmisled,harmedoroffendedbyadshelpstomaintainconsumer
confidence inadvertising.Advertisingthatiswelcomedbyconsumersisgoodforbusiness.
It maintainsalevel playingfieldamongstbusinesses.Itisimportantforfaircompetitionthatall
advertisersplaybythe same rules.
Maintainingthe self-regulatorysystemismuchmore cost-effective foradvertisersthanpayingthe
legal costsof a court case.
The role of the industryisto write the AdvertisingCodes,helpadvertiserstocomplywiththe rules
and to payfor the system.
However,the industrydoesnotadministeritsownrules.Ithasestablishedthe Advertising
StandardsAuthority(ASA) asthe independentadjudicator.Advertisingself-regulationisflexibleinits

3. scope and isable to adapt to marketconditions.Thisisparticularlyimportantinthe fast-moving
advertisingindustry.
The Code reflectsrequirementsinlaw,butalsocontainsmanyrulesthatare not requiredbylaw at
all.The advertisingindustryhaschosentoexercise thisself-restraintnotonlytomake further
legislationunnecessary,butalsoasa publicdemonstrationof itscommitmenttohigh standardsin
advertising.
Because the systemworkssuccessfully,the UKGovernmenthasnotneededtoregulate directly.
However,thatdoesn’tmeanthatthe viewsof politicians –or civil societyandthe widerindustry - on
advertisingregulationare unimportant,sowe activelyseekouttheirviewsonourwork.
Interactionwiththe law
Acrossthe EuropeanUnion(EU) there is a unifiedpiece of consumerprotectionlegislationto
preventthe use of misleadingorunfairtradingpractices.Thislaw,called the UnfairCommercial
PracticesDirective,hasbeentranslatedintoUKlaw to make sure that we have the same rulesas all
the othercountriesinthe EU.
The ASA workswithinthislegal frameworktomake sure thatUK advertisingisnotmisleadingor
unfair.The ASA isable to referadvertiserswhopersistentlybreakthe AdvertisingCodesanddon’t
workwithus to otherbodiesforthe furtheraction,suchas TradingStandardsor Ofcom.
The ASA isconsideredthe ‘establishedmeans’forgainingcompliancewith boththese piecesof
legislation.Thismeansthatthe lawitself isnotusuallyenforcedformallythroughthe courts;instead
the ASA is firstallowedtotackle anyproblemsunderthe AdvertisingCodes.Thisapproachworks
well inthe overwhelmingmajorityof cases.The ASA isable totake actionquicklyandthisavoids
cloggingupour court system.
Referral israrelynecessary,asmostadvertisersprefertoworkwiththe self-regulatorysystem.
I foundthisinformationat https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/About-regulation/Self-regulation-of-
non-broadcast-advertising.aspx
How does regulation work after an advertisement has appeared and what sanctions can the
ASA impose?
Even though many steps are taken to ensure ads are in line with the Codes before they are
aired or published, consumers have the right to complain about ads they have seen, which
they believe to be misleading, harmful or offensive.
The ASA can act on just one complaint. We don’t play a numbers game: our concern is
whether the Codes have been breached.
Sanctions
If we have judged an ad to be in breach of the Codes, then the ad must be withdrawn or
amended. The vast majority of advertisers comply with the ASA’s rulings and they act
quickly to amend or withdraw an ad that breaks the Codes. We have a range of effective
sanctions at our disposal to act against the few who do not and ensure they comply with the
rules.

4. I found this information at https://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/About-regulation/Self-
regulation-of-non-broadcast-advertising.aspx
Complaints on the ASA website about Tesco and Barnardo’s
Tesco:
ASA Ruling on Tesco Stores Ltd
Tesco Stores Ltd
Tesco House
Delamare Road
Cheshunt
Hertfordshire
EN8 9SL
Date: 2 March 2016
Media: National press
Sector: Retail
Number of complaints: 1
Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty Ltd
Complaint Ref: A15-316872
Ad
A national press ad for Tesco, seen in October 2015, was headlined “Never pay more for
your branded shop”. Text below stated, “If it’s cheaper at Asda, Morrisons or Sainsbury’s,
we’ll take the money off your bill at the till”. It included an image of a character associated
with a flour brand holding an icon that carried the text “Brand Guarantee”.
Small print included “Min. basket of 10 different products, including 1 comparable branded
product. Total price of branded grocery shop compared with Asda, Morrisons and
Sainsbury’s and if cheaper elsewhere the difference will be taken off your bill …”.
Issue
Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, who believed the ad did not make the minimum purchase
restriction sufficiently clear, challenged whether the claim“Never pay more for your
branded shop” was misleading.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
3.13.33.333.9
Response
Tesco Stores Ltd believed the ad communicated the scheme clearly to consumers and was
consistent with the industry’s wider approach to price match advertising. They understood
consumers were familiar with how price match schemes worked and that a minimum spend
requirement generally applied. They believed the ad made clear that a “branded shop” was
made up of multiple products, which was something consumers were also already familiar
with. Tesco considered the combination of the text and the Brand Guarantee logo
communicated to consumers that the ad related to a price match scheme for branded

5. products in which prices were matched against ASDA, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, and that it
worked by taking money off at the till if the branded shop cost more at Tesco.
Tesco said that of the conditions set out in the small print the first was the minimum
purchase requirement, and that was communicated in a context in which, as above, it was
clear that the scheme applied to the shop as a whole. The first part of the small print also
made clear what qualified as a branded shop and informed consumers where they could
find further information. Tesco accepted that the minimum purchase requirement was a
condition that should be brought to consumers’ attention, however, they believed it was
sufficient to do so in small print, because it was not so significant as to contradict the
headline claim(but instead clarified the nature of a “branded shop”). They also said the
condition was of no more importance than those such as geographical restrictions or
maximum refunds, which were typically also in small print. They said price match schemes
were usually aimed at shops that included multiple items and that their data showed the
average Brand Guarantee shop contained 24.4 items, whereas the minimum number to
qualify for the match was ten. Tesco had taken advice from the CAP Copy Advice team, who
believed the ad was likely to be acceptable in relation to the minimum purchase
requirement.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered consumers were likely to be familiar with the concept of price match
schemes, but that they would not necessarily be aware of the conditions involved, or that
there might be a minimum purchase requirement, in particular if an ad suggested
otherwise. Research data published by the CMA (included in its July 2015 report on Pricing
Practices in the Groceries Market, produced in response to a super complaint from Which?),
indicated that of respondents who correctly understood that their ‘planned shop’
supermarket had a price matching scheme, 25% reported that they had no idea how it
worked and a further 40% had only a rough idea. We agreed with the CMA’s statement
about the importance of retailers communicating clearly with consumers to help them
understand how schemes operated and enable them to take informed decisions.
We acknowledged Tesco had consulted the Copy Advice team, whose view was that it was
likely to be acceptable to set the minimum purchase requirement out in small print. The ad
included a single brand character, a prominent reference to the Brand Guarantee and the
text “branded shop”. We considered it was clear the scheme related only to branded, as
opposed to own-brand, items. However, we also considered it was not sufficiently clear
from the main body of the ad that it was necessary to buy multiple products in order to
qualify. In addition, we considered “Never pay more for your branded shop” was an
absolute claimthat was likely to be understood by consumers to mean that if they
purchased branded good(s), they would qualify for the price match against the named
retailers. While the small print said it was necessary to purchase at least ten different items,
including one comparable branded product, for the Brand Guarantee to apply, we

6. considered that contradicted the headline claimand was not sufficiently prominent to
counteract the misleading impression created by it. We therefore concluded that the ad was
misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.9
(Qualification) and 3.33 (Comparisons with identifiable competitors).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Tesco Stores Ltd to ensure
significant conditions were made sufficiently clear in future, to avoid being misleading.
Barnardo’s
Barnardo’s, 2008
The ASA received 840 complaints about this Barnardo’s ad campaign, which was designed to
raise awareness of domestic child abuse.
The TV campaign featured repeated scenes of violence and drug-taking, which many
viewers
found upsetting and not suitable for broadcast at times when children were likely to be
watching.
We did not doubt the distress or offence described by many of the complainants. However,
we
considered the ads were appropriately scheduled and their aimjustified the use of strong
imagery.