On-screen text in the ad stated: "Selected UK stores, lines and availability. Ends 9 November."
Three viewers and Argos lodged a complaint with the ad regulator challenging the terms and availability of toys included in the offer.
Tesco asserted that the promotion only ran for a limited period and stated that the ad established that all toys featured in the ad were at a 50 per cent discount.
Clearcast, which cleared the ad for broadcast, confirmed the ad made clear that only a selection of toys were half price and that the offer only applied to selected lines.
The ASA noted the toys featured in the ad were half price during the offer period, but the voiceover, which stated "Toys, well, we all know Christmas…", seemed to imply that the offer actually extended to all toys stocked in Tesco.
The regulator decided the ad was misleading for not making the exact terms of the offer transparent to viewers.
Advertising Standards Authority
ASA bans Tesco toy ad
LONDON - The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a TV ad for Tesco that misleadingly implied all toys across its stores were included in a half-price sale.
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