Online contact lens retailer Getlenses.co.uk was forced to remove a spoof advert from its website after it was threatened with legal action by Specsavers.
The advert used an image from a Specsavers ad comparing prices with Boots Opticians. This had been defaced with a marker pen to show Getlenses' prices, which were lower than Specsavers'.
The spoof ad was used for email marketing by Getlenses as well as on its blog.
Specsavers set a deadline of Friday April 8 for Getlenses to respond to its demands, according to Marketing Magazine. In a letter to the owners of the website, lawyers acting for Specsavers said 'Getlenses is seeking to denigrate and tarnish our client's brand' and 'taking advantage of Specsavers' extensive reputation as a value-for-money optician'.
In a statement to Optician, Richard Holmes, Specsavers' marketing director, said: 'This is simply a question of protecting our well-known property, "Should've gone to Specsavers".'
Michael Kraftman, chief executive officer of Getlenses, said: 'This is interesting, as they [Specsavers] were comparing prices in the same way. We have taken the doctored ad down, but have posted a new piece where the essence of the price comparison has stayed up.'
After the removal of the ad, a post on the Getlenses' blog stated that Specsavers was 'rather keen to shout about' the savings that could be made on contact lenses from them in comparison to high street opticians, but said these were 'not so great' in comparison to Getlenses' prices.
Specsavers has proven to be very protective of its brand identity, having previously taken legal action against Asda in 2009 (News 30.10.09) over marketing Specsavers claimed was misleading.