A Kimberly-Clark promotion which promised Tesco customers 30 free Clubcard points with every Andrex purchase has incurred the wrath of the ad watchdog after Tesco admitted its checkouts could not cope with the offer.
The company explained to the Advertising Standards Authority that it had intended to offer an automatic points credit at the till. But just as the promotion was about to go live – with all the promotional material already printed and ready to go – Tesco realised that its checkout system would be unable to credit points to customers’ Clubcard accounts.
Kimberly-Clark said that when it became aware of the issue, it decided to provide customers with a coupon for the value of the Clubcard points, which could be redeemed when they purchased a further Andrex or Kleenex product.
Claiming it was not economically feasible to withdraw the promotion, instead the company amended its details within the terms and conditions on its website.
The brand owner also said that it tried to make amends by providing consumers with the widest possible choice, by extending the offer to all Andrex and Kleenex products.
But the excuse fell on deaf ears at ASA, despite the technical difficulties. The regulator was especially critical of the fact that consumers were required to make an additional purchase from a limited range of products in order to benefit from the advertised Clubcard points.
Banning the promotion, the ASA concluded that it had caused unnecessary disappointment and warned Kimberly-Clark and Tesco about their future conduct.
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