Two Specsavers national press ads comparing contact lens prices with Boots must not appear again in their current form, the ASA has ruled.
The first ad from May 2011 was headlined 'Save up to £193 on Boots contact lenses, switch to Specsavers', while the second, from October, stated 'How can Boots customers save up to £122 a year on Acuvue contact lenses? Switch to Specsavers'.
Boots said that the claims were misleading as the prices for its CLs were incorrect. The first ad did not state where the comparison was conducted. Boots also believed this ad implied prices for Purevision and Purevision Toric related to premium brand products sold by Specsavers, but understood consumers would receive own-brand product.
The ASA noted Specsavers' evidence was phone calls to Boots branches. 'Because the stated prices were different to those Boots said it charged and because there were variations in the prices recorded during the phone conversations, typed details of phone conversations were not adequate to demonstrate that the prices stated in the ads were those charged by either Boots or Specsavers.'
Average prices were used for Boots products in the second ad, but that was not clear. 'Because we had not seen adequate documentary evidence in the form of sales receipts, to support the price comparisons in the ads, we considered the claims had not been substantiated.'
The two other complaints were not upheld. As both were national chains it was not necessary to state exactly which stores were involved. A letter from Bausch+Lomb confirmed it supplied Purevision and Purevision Toric lenses to Specsavers in original B+L packaging and the ASA considered that was adequate to demonstrate customers would receive premium branded lenses.