Advertisment
A Centra leaflet advertising various in-store offers included an offer on chicken breasts. An image of a pack with five chicken breasts was featured and above the pack image were two stickers, one, a triangular shaped sticker, stated: “3 days only. Valid 2nd – 4th October” while the other, a circular sticker stated: “Half Price”
Text underneath the pack stated:
“Centra Fresh Irish Chicken Fillets.
454g – €5.51/kg was €5.00
now €2.50”
Complaint
The complainant viewed the offer on chicken breasts in the leaflet, noting that the pack had featured five chicken breasts and went to his local Centra store to purchase same. When he arrived at the store he noted that all packs on offer included only three chicken breasts and on querying it with a staff member he was told that the packs on sale were correct and that the advertisement was incorrect. The complainant therefore considered that the advertised offer was misleading.
Response
The advertiser stated that it appeared that they had made an error when signing off on the artwork for the product. They said that the picture in the leaflet should have contained three chicken fillets and not five as featured.
They said that the weight of the product, the weight per kilogram and the price were all correct, however, it should have been recognised that this was the weight and price of three chicken fillets and not five. They said that their trading and marketing departments had informed them that they have introduced an additional checking stage on signing off all marketing artwork on promotional advertisements and that this should ensure that the problem does not reoccur.
They apologised to the complaint and also stated that it had not been their intention to deceive consumers, nor did they believe that there had been any deception. They said that while they may have given the impression in the leaflet that the quantity of chicken portions in the offer was greater than what was actually the case, the quantity of chicken by weight was as stated on the label and the number of portions was clearly visible to the customer before any purchase could be made as the packaging was transparent.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. The Committee noted that advertising had included the correct weight and pricing information, however, it had, in error, featured an image of five chicken breasts. As the image incorrectly offered five chicken breasts, the Committee considered that the advertisement was in breach of Sections 4.1 and 4.9 of the Code.
ACTION REQUIRED:
The advertisement must not appear in its current form again.
