Tesco Sausage Advert Banned

The ad, which was for the supermarket’s own brand Butcher’s Choice Sausages, showed pigs roaming in a field and walking freely in a barn. It attracted complaints because it suggested that the pigs used for the sausages were reared in an unrestricted outdoor environment when in fact they were bred both indoors and outdoors, with movement restricted.

A Tesco spokesperson told the BBC: "We're a bit baffled by this ruling. The farmer featured is a Tesco supplier and produces some of the pork featured in our ad.

"We genuinely don't see how the ASA can say an ad showing a genuine Tesco farmer can be misleading."

Nina Best, advertising lawyer at Browne Jacobson, said that even though Tesco did not make any claims as to how the pigs were reared and only had them roaming outdoors for a few seconds, it was enough for the ASA to “wield its axe”.

“Advertisers should remember that actions can speak louder than words as Tesco has found to its cost. Shoppers are increasingly concerned about animal welfare standards,” she added.

“Supermarkets are falling over themselves to be seen as ethical businesses but the last thing you want is to be accused of misleading the public. Companies must not forget to ensure that their visual claims are capable of substantiation as well as their written ones."

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