ASA rules in favour of Pick ‘n Pay

This was the ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority, who had received a complaint from a member of the public. The person concerned had complained to the ASA on the basis that they thought the claim that Pick 'n Pay was 'always cheaper' was misleading.

The ASA investigated the complaint and were supplied with independent, verified research. At their subsequent meeting, they ruled that Pick 'n Pay's advertising campaign was not in breach of Clause 4.1 and 4.2.1 of the ASA Code of Practice. Both clauses indicate that advertisers should have current documented evidence to support and substantiate all claims, whether direct or implied. The relevant advertisement should also not contain any statement which could mislead the consumer in terms of the value of the total price to be paid as well as characteristics such as nature, composition, method and date of manufacture.

It was therefore found that Pick 'n Pay's 'Always Cheaper' slogan had been consistently substantiated over the past three years and was therefore not misleading to consumers.

Pick 'n Pay has based their 'Always Cheaper' advertising campaign on independent price check research which is conducted monthly by a prominent, reputable South African research house. These trolley for trolley price comparisons consistently analyse prices on a basket of 750 items of groceries, toiletries, perishables and confectionaries across every South African retailer including Pick 'n Pay Hypermarkets. The sample basket also includes 10% of house branded items or alternatively, the cheapest item on the shelf.

Research results have shown that Pick 'n Pay Hypermarkets have consistently come out with the cheapest basket of goods.

Jonathan Ackerman, Pick 'n Pay's marketing director, said that the 'always cheaper' slogan is a positioning statement that the company has used for all its Pick 'n Pay Hypermarket advertising material since March 2003, with the advertising campaign aired on radio, television as well as newspaper inserts.

"We carefully considered the slogan before embarking on the campaign, using independent research to verify our statement. We know that this statement is a true reflection when comparing the price of a trolley of similar products against all our competitors," he said.