The ad showed a free-standing roll-top bath filling with water. A voiceover said: "Tesco Home Insurance. For a limited time, you'll get a 50% discount when you buy online. That's half price. Or put another way: pay for upstairs, get downstairs free. Tesco Home Insurance. Every little helps."
The on-screen text then read: "Applies in the first year only. Get a quote by the 6th August and buy within 90 days." Water then began to overflow onto the floor and the text "Half price online" appeared in a red circle.
One viewer, who had previously been given a home insurance quotation and was quoted a price of only £20 less during the offer's promotional period, challenged the half-price claim.
Tesco Personal Finance, provided jointly with the Royal Bank of Scotland, explained that unlike traditional product-based discounts, where the product must have been previously price-established at a higher price, insurance products were priced differently. It transpired that the complainant's first quote had included an online discount of 35% and that, having seen the ad, he applied again and received a 50% discount, a discount only 15% greater than his first quote.
The ASA concluded that the ad breached its rules on misleading advertising and on accurate pricing. It ruled that the ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.
Separately, the ASA investigated complaints against an ad for Tesco, which claimed: "Fruit and veg. We always try to buy British." A complainant said that all the apples and pears in his local store were sourced from foreign countries.
However, the complaints were not upheld and the ASA noted that Tesco's ad stated that it always tried to buy British produce, but did not claim it always bought British.
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