The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland has upheld a complaint made against Aldi, after it was found that a Serrano ham advertised for their Specialbuys online was listed as weighing 1.5kg, while the box instore said it was 0.950kg.
On being notified of the complaint, Aldi conducted an investigation into the matter and found that the instore price was correct, and that the company had inadvertently included the incorrect weight on its website.
It said that the error has occurred as the result of the weight of the ham’s wooden board being included in the overall figure.
Aldi accepted that an error had occurred on its website, but added that the produce had been correctly advertised instore, and that the right weight had at all times been visible on the price card and on the ham’s packaging.
As the retailer does not sell their products online, it said it considered that there had never been any possibility that a customer could have purchased the product believing that the product weighed 1.5kg.
The complaint against Aldi was one of 15 that the ASAI has recently upheld, according to its latest bulletin. Complaints were also upheld against companies such as Vodafone, Skytel and Toyota.
Commenting on rulings, Orla Twomey, CEO of the ASAI, said, "The ASAI is passionate about good advertising because responsible advertisements are good for consumers, society and advertisers and ensure trust in brands.
"Our approach is to work with advertisers rather than against them to ultimately ensure that all marketing communications are truthful, decent and honest. If an advertiser has any concerns relating to any future campaign they feel may be in breach of the ASAI’s Code, they can contact us and avail the ASAI’s free and confidential copy advice service."
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan.
