ASA upholds Countdown complaint about Mad Butcher ads

Jo, understood to be a real person, bought five meat products from the Mad Butcher Onehunga store and the Countdown Greenlane store on May 22.

These products cost $88.95 at the Mad Butcher, and $116.95 at Countdown, so the consumer could have saved $28 or 31.5 per cent, as advertised by the Mad Butcher.

Progressive Enterprises said the advertisements were misleading because no "basket shop" was undertaken by Jo at Countdown; consumers could not buy four of the five Countdown products at the prices listed in the campaign; one kilogram packs of meat were not available for purchase at Countdown; the products compared were not of similar quality; and the Mad Butcher prices should have been compared with the Countdown Onehunga prices.