ASA upholds complaint on specs offer

A practice group has had its complaint about a Specsavers Opticians national press advert upheld by the advertising standards watchdog this week.

Premier Vision Opticians, which has five outlets, challenged the advertisement's claim that it was Specsavers 'biggest ever offer', and the Advertising Standards Authority agreed.

The advert showed a pair of spectacles with a price label that stated £75, above the headline 'Buy These'.  Above a photo of the same spectacles the text stated 'get these free' with text below claiming 'in our biggest ever offer. Single-vision glasses two pairs from £75. Bifocal glasses two pairs from £110. Varifocal glasses two pairs from £134'.

The complainants believed the advertisers offered those products at cheaper prices in some stores, and took issue with the 'biggest ever' statement.

Specsavers told the ASA it had described the offer as its biggest because it was the first time the Guernsey-based business had included bifocals and varifocals in a two-for-one offer. The multiple explained to the watchdog that previous offers were restricted to single-vision lenses.

It also said that the price of its two-for-one offer differed according to two target markets - nationally advertised at £75, but in some regions at £65. And Specsavers pointed out that its regional advertising made clear to which stores the £65 price applied.

In its statement, the ASA noted the offer had been extended to include two additional types of lenses and acknowledged the advertisement referred prominently to bifocal and varifocal spectacles.

'The Authority also noted, however, the advertisers offered lower prices for the two-for-one offer in five regions and considered that readers could infer from the claim "biggest ever offer" that the prices quoted in the advertisement were the advertisers' cheapest ever prices.'

It concluded that the claim was, at best, ambiguous and, at worst, misleading.