Sainsbury's Seek Judicial Review Of ASA Decision

Supermarket chain Sainsbury's is seeking a judicial review into a decision by the Advertising Standards Authority to reject its complaint over rival Tesco's 'Price Promise" campaign.

Sainsbury's raised its compliant over a Tesco promotion that sees them issuing vouchers should a comparison find the same product a customer is buying to be cheaper elsewhere.

However, Sainsbury's argued that Tesco was ignoring differences in the two chains' own brand products when making comparisons and was misleading customers.

Using the example of own brand tea, Sainsbury's say that Tesco compares its Everyday Value tea with its own Sainsbury's Basics tea, while ignoring that the Sainsbury's tea is fair trade and Tesco's is not.

In July the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that Tesco's 'Price Promise" campaign did not break its rules. Sainsbury's also lost a subsequent appeal.

They are understood to now be seeking a judicial review of the ASA decision, which could lead to court action between the supermarket rivals.

(MH/CD)