has successfully hijacked the marketing campaign of rival Tesco and stolen Clubcard customers. Any moves to stop Asda cannot be made before its promotion finishes on Christmas Eve.
Posters in seven Asda stores knock Tesco’s loyalty card scheme, telling shoppers, ‘Your Tesco Clubcard voucher is worth more at Asda’.
is offering shoppers the same money-back deals they would receive if they used the vouchers in Tesco stores, plus a voucher offering £2.50 off a future purchase of more than pounds 30.
The offer is valid until December 24, and was advertised in local papers last week.
Tesco cannot take legal action but has appealed to the Advertising Standards Authority, saying the Asda promotion unfairly exploits the goodwill attached to its loyalty card scheme.
However, any judgement by the ASA cannot be made until its next scheduled council meeting in January - allowing Asda to continue its scheme during the Christmas season.
‘This is just a marketing gimmick for the Christmas period,’ said a Tesco spokesman. ‘We reward on a regular basis. Asda is just out to make a fast buck.’
An Asda spokeswoman said Tesco customers had used the vouchers in Asda stores, but she would not give figures. ‘This was only a trial initiative. We are finding out where to go from here,’ she said. She added that the offer was unlikely to be extended to all stores.
.jpg)
.jpg)