7 out of 10 regulators...

The Times claims that Costa Coffee is expecting to be told off by the Advertising Standards Authority for its '7 out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa' claim. The Times appears to have had leaked to it the ASA staff paper containing the recommendation to the ASA Council that a complaint against the ad should be upheld, at least in part. Costa has already landed in hot latte over the '7 out of 10' claim in its radio advertising for not making clear that the claim is based only on expressions of preference for cappuccino, not the chain's products or stores in general. The Times says that the print ads do include this qualification in small print, but suggests that this may not be enough to save the campaign from censure. Since the ASA Council has yet even to meet to discuss this case, according to The Times, it is worth pointing out that the Council does sometimes reach a different conclusion from that recommended by ASA staff, so The Times may be a little premature in calling this one quite so soon.