The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against an advert by Red Tractor, which it said had “exaggerated the environmental benefits” of the farm assurance scheme.

Environmental group River Action challenged advertising for the Red Tractor scheme, shown on 1st May 2023, because it was concerned that environmental standards relating to pollution on Red Tractor farms were not being met.

The Red Tractor advert showed a person pushing a shopping trolley through shopping aisles, then passing a flock of sheep and a tractor outside before moving through the barn of a dairy herd and arriving back in the shop again. Posters with the Red Tractor logo were displayed in the shop, reading “certified standards” and “farmed with care”.

The advert ended by showing the Red Tractor logo, then showing the text “certified standards” surrounded by sausages, broccoli, flour, apples, cheese and chicken, as text stated, “farmed with care”.

ASA said that when claiming “farmed with care” in conjunction with “all our standards are met” in advertising, Red Tractor should make clear exactly what standards it was referring to, and the degree to which they claimed that they were being met.

Red Tractor stated that its new advert had been “thoroughly vetted to ensure no implied claims”.

Red Tractor “concerned” by investigative process

Red Tractor CEO Jim Moseley commented: “The ASA has been considering this complaint for over two years, during which time they’ve flipped from not upholding to upholding.

“We believe the ASA’s final decision is fundamentally flawed and misinterprets the content of our advert. If the advert was clearly misleading, it wouldn’t have taken so long to reach this conclusion. Accordingly, the ASA’s actions are minimal. They’ve confirmed that we can continue to use ‘Farmed with Care’ but simply need to provide more information on the specific standards being referred to, such as a link to our website. 

“The advert, which is now almost five years old, was last broadcast in 2023 and focused on Red Tractor’s standards for traceability, food safety and animal welfare. It made no environmental claim, and we completely disagree with the assumption that it would have been misinterpreted by consumers.

“While we fully respect the ASA’s role, we are concerned about the process they’ve followed. First, rather than use the accepted ‘average consumer test’ the ASA has used their own judgement that a ‘minority of informed consumers’ may misinterpret the advert.

“We believe this is an error in law and certainly a departure from normal practice. Second, we’re concerned that the use of pastoral imagery (in CGI) in conjunction with messages about responsible farming, is treated as an implicit environmental claim. Both concerns could have serious implications for other advertisers, particularly in the field of food and farming.”

The ruling comes as River Action has called on retailers to “stop relying on Red Tractor for environmental certification”. Retailers include Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons and Asda, as well as others.