ASA scraps map on Asda supermarket development ad

by Hadassah Nymark, campaignlive.co.uk 04-Nov-09, 00:01

LONDON - A map used in a regional press ad indicating the proposed development of an Asda store in the Barnet area has been removed by the Advertising Standards Authority after a reader complained that the maps were misleading as they did not give an accurate impression of the development.

The complainant felt the maps featured in the four-page wraparound exaggerated the size of competitors’ stores while implying that Asda’s proposed development was much smaller than it would actually be.

Asda stated the map reflected the actual site of the store and was a reduced version of a scaled plan submitted to the council. A dotted line indicated the precise store location, and the wider scheme and site layout were detailed in the ad.

The ASA noted the map on page four outlined the proposed Asda store floorspace, but the Asda application also included housing, community floorspace and additional commercial floorspace, which was not shown on the map.

The watchdog considered the proposed site area was more extensive than that shown on the map and for this reason concluded this element should not appear as part of the ad again.