Battle of the pizza-makers as Dr Oetker advert challenge results in ban
FROZEN pizza-makers Dr Oetker have been chastised for “misleading” adverts after a rival company complained.
Leeds-based Two Sisters Food Group Ltd, makers of competitor product Goodfella’s Pizza, challenged claims made by Dr Oetker (also based in Leeds).
They took their grievances to the Advertising Standards Authority.
The adverts, on Facebook and on its website, claimed that Dr Oetker pizzas had the “Best Pizzeria Taste at home.” and “9 out of 10 agree”.
The headline claim was based on every response to the statement: “Ristorante has the best pizzeria taste of any pizza I have purchased to cook at home”.
It said that 53,024 of 58,037 (90.81%) respondents, who had purchased a Dr Oetker pizza to complete the survey, agreed or strongly agreed with that statement.
Dr Oetker gave a free pizza voucher to recipients, which it said was made clear. However a copy advice team had not received “full details of the survey methodology” the ASA said.
It said that the survey respondents included a disproportionate number (23%) that had purchased the advertiser’s pizza before, and that some would have been motivated by the offer of receiving another free pizza – prompting concerns they would look more favourably on Dr Oetker’s pizzas than a random or representative sample.
It concluded that the adverts were misleading and must not appear again in their current form.
An ASA statement said: “We told Dr Oetker (UK) Ltd not to imply that 90% of a group that was representative of the general public and who were in a position to compare Ristorante pizza with competitor products had agreed that Ristorante had the best taste, if that was not the case.”
The company, part of the German group of the same name, employs around 500 people in the UK split between its Leeds head office and its manufacturing site in Leyland, Lancashire.
