A UK advertising watchdog has ruled that a TV commercial for Tesco's Butcher's Choice sausages was misleading as it implied that the meat came from free-range pigs. The Advertising Standards Authority said the advertisement's scenes showed the pigs "to be in a spacious and free environment", which would lead viewers to believe that free-range meat was used in the sausages.
The supermarket chain said it did not believe the TV advert was misleading as the animals were reared to nationally agreed welfare standards. "We're a bit baffled by this ruling," said a spokesperson for Tesco. "The farmer featured is a Tesco supplier and produces some of the pork featured in our ad. We genuinely don't see how the ASA can say an ad showing a genuine Tesco farmer can be misleading." Four viewers made complaints about the advert when it was aired in May.
The ASA said the advert must not be repeated again in its current form as it breached advertising regulations. (20 Sept)
© 2011 - ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
