Retail (Supermarket)

Social Media Advertisement:
A reel/post on the Lidl Ireland Instagram account included the statement:
“You really can Go Full Lidl all year, because Lidl’s Price Is Always Right”.

A rosette was shown onscreen with the wording “Ireland’s Best Value Supermarket”.

The post also stated “For T&C’s visit lidl.ie/PriceIsAlwaysRight”

Press Advertisement:
A press advertisement featured a trolley price comparison between Lidl and three competitors. The advertisement was headlined:
“The results are in. Lidl is Ireland’s best value supermarket.”

“Lidl’s Price Is Always Right”
A rosette was shown onscreen with the wording “Ireland’s Best Value Supermarket”.

A footnote at the bottom of the press advertisement stated:
“Comparison shop completed on the 06/01/2025. Pro rata price comparison based on supermarket own label where appropriate.
Loyalty apps and schemes included. For more information visit lidl.ie/PriceIsAlwaysRight”

Aldi Stores Ireland Ltd objected to the advertising on the grounds that the advertising claim “Ireland’s Best Value Supermarket” implied the advertisers had been awarded through a competition or an independent award. They also said that nowhere in the advertisements had the claim been verified or substantiated.

The advertiser stated that the claim to be ‘Ireland’s best value supermarket’ could be fully substantiated from Ireland RepTrak 2024 data. They provided the Executive with a copy of the relevant section of the RepTrak 2024 data confirming the ranking of retailers in Ireland in respect to “offers products and services that are a good value for the money” (sic).

In regard to the Instagram content, they said users were recommended to refer to the terms and conditions at the bottom of the Instagram post for further details.

They said they had amended the campaign to include the appropriate Ireland RepTrak 2024 substantiation data at the bottom of the asset design, and they provided a copy of the amended asset to the Executive.

The advertisers said that after an internal review of the campaign and the information associated with the campaign both online and in print media, they were satisfied that the statements contained in the campaign adhered to the spirit of the ASA guidelines. They also said that they were further satisfied that any viewer of the campaign had ready access to objective substantiation to the claims contained in the campaign via the Ireland RepTrak 2024 data.

They said that the report was conducted by the Reputations Agency and was a study based on the perceptions of over 5,000 members of the public, measuring the level of trust, respect, admiration and esteem the public has for 100 of the largest, most familiar and most important organisations in Ireland, alongside 100 other reputation, brand, purpose and Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) indicators.

The advertisers said that they had no doubt that the use of the Ireland Reptrak 2024 Report findings fully and adequately substantiated the claims of the campaign that Lidl was Ireland’s best value retailer.

RepTrak is a study based on the perceptions of over 5,000 members of the public. It measures the level of trust, respect, admiration and esteem the public has for 100 of the largest, most familiar and most important organisations in Ireland, alongside 100 other reputation, brand, purpose and ESG indicators. Source https://thereputationsagency.ie/reptrak/reports/2024/05/15/ireland-reptrak-2024-report

Complaint Upheld
The Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. They noted that the advertising had been amended to refer to the RepTrak 2024 award.

The Council noted that the claim to be ‘Ireland’s Best Value Supermarket’ was based on the results of a reputational study in which respondents were asked to attribute the retailer they considered ‘offers products and services that are good value for the money’. The Council noted that the research was carried out by a third party and that brands could sign up to access and use the results of the reputational survey.

The Council considered that the study reflected the opinions and sentiment of the respondents.

While noting that the concept ‘value’ was not always linked to price, in this case, as the advertising included a reference to ‘Lidl’s Price is Always Right’ as well as to comparison shops, the Council considered that the ‘value’ claim related to price. They considered that to claim to be the best value in these circumstances would require detailed price comparisons across all competitors. They noted that such data had not been submitted to the ASA.

The Council also noted that the claim “Ireland’s Best Value Supermarket” had appeared on a rosette and that traditionally a rosette was something associated with a prize. The Council considered the consumer take out of the claim together with the use of the rosette, and they considered that a reasonable interpretation was that the claim was being made on foot of an award.

In the circumstances, they considered that the advertising was likely to mislead consumer and was therefore in breach of Sections 4.1, 4.4, 4.9 and 4.10 of the Code.

Action Required:
The advertising should not appear in its current form again.

The Council advised advertisers to ensure that appropriate substantiation was to hand for claims made.