Makro has been rapped on the knuckles for failing to disclose that the price of a block of cheese it advertised was not for the pictured 1.25kg loaf but rather per kilogram of cheese.
Consumer Gawie Bezuidenhout took issue with Makro’s advert for a Lancewood Firm Cheese Mini Loaf which was advertised for R114.95, after working out that the price was not for the block in the photograph. He laid a formal complaint of misleading advertising by Makro with the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB).
When contacted by the ARB, Makro noted that it was not a member and therefore not bound by ARB regulations, but agreed to respond in good faith to the complaint.
In its response, Makro stated that the advertised price was per kilogram of cheese, but that the photograph used had been of a 1.25kg block as this was the average size of a Lancewood Firm Cheese mini loaf. Bigger loafs weigh 2.5kg on average.
“It could be more or it could be less, and given that there is no fixed pack weight, it should be clear to the consumer that this is a per kilogram price,” Makro said.
Though Makro is not a member of the ARB and therefore not subject to its jurisdiction, the board decided to proceed with the complaint to give guidance to other members, who are bound by decisions.
Code of Advertising Practice
It viewed the complaint in terms of applying the Code of Advertising Practice, which states that advertisements “should not contain any statement or visual presentation which, directly or by implication, omission, ambiguity, inaccuracy, exaggerated claim or otherwise, is likely to mislead the consumer”.
“The central question ... is how a reasonable consumer would likely interpret the advertisement at issue. The advertisement presents a price: R114.95. This price contains neither an asterisk nor the very simple legend, ‘per kg’. The price appears in red and indicates that it is a 10% saving. The price appears alongside the words, ‘Firm Cheese Mini Loaf (All Variants) +- 1.25kg’,” the ARB said.
The regulator considered that while some consumers would understand the price to be per kilogram, given the use of the “+-” weighting, this was far from clear.
“It was therefore a perfectly reasonable conclusion for the consumer to understand that the block of cheese, that weighs +- 1.25kg, will cost R114.95.”
The regulator added: “One final possible and likely interpretation would be that 1.25kg costs R114.95, but that this price might fluctuate slightly if the block weighs a bit more or a bit less. Given this, the advertising is ambiguous at best.”
It said the addition of “per kg” to the pricing would have cleared up any ambiguity, and therefore found the advert to be misleading. ARB members were instructed not to accept advertising from Makro that does not clearly reflect the price of cheese per kilogram and not for the pictured block.
