Regulator clears Costa over jibes at Starbucks in ads

London: Sorry Starbucks, but the advertising watchdog has found that Costa Coffee's ad campaign that "seven out of 10" coffee lovers prefer its coffee is true.

Starbucks lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority about rival Costa's provocative poster and press campaign. The ads, by agency Karmarama, used straplines including ‘Sorry Starbucks: the people have voted', ‘Starbucks drinkers prefer Costa' and ‘Seven out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa'. The posters were based on blind taste tests between Costa, Starbucks and Caffe Nero brands.

Starbucks challenged whether the ads were misleading, because the taste test only applied to cappuccinos and not all products, that the small print was "insufficiently legible", and that the survey methodology was flawed.

The ASA dismissed all of Starbucks' grievances.

"Costa has been totally exonerated," said the Costa Coffee marketing director, Jim Slater. "The adjudication is good news, but not a surprise. The ASA has run an extremely thorough investigation, which has found Starbucks' complaints to be without merit."

Win or lose, the campaign has already been a massive winner for Costa, helping to boost sales by 5.5 per cent on a like-for-like basis.