Supermarket advertising has never been more competitive. Tesco and Asda are concentrating on price with both stores offering to pay back the difference plus 10% on a range of day to day products. Now Aldi have launched a television campaign with a range of adverts which feature a direct comparison of leading brand with the lesser known brands stocked at Aldi.

The first adverts compares Heinz tomato ketchup and Aldi’s Bramwells Tomato Ketchup with the prices at £1.95 for the premium brand and the lesser known brand a massive 65% cheaper at just 69p for the 570g bottle.

The Aldi strapline, “Like brands. Only cheaper.” has provoked reaction from Heinz with a spokesman maintaining that, “Consumers will not be fooled by imitators they know no other ketchup will do. One of the secrets of the world’s favourite ketchup is our special tomato know-how.”

An Aldi spokesman reveals that future adverts will compare different everyday products against the top brands and that Aldi is not suggesting that their brands were better than leading brands “We are saying our products are like the brands, but cost significantly less.”

Lower price supermarkets Aldi and Lidl have both gained market share in the three months to February with Aldi increasing to 3.1% from 2.9% and Lidl 2.4% up from 2.2% according to figures released by Kantar Worldpanel. Interestingly despite the recession Waitrose has also improved its position in the marketplace with its highest ever share of 4.4% over the same period.

Tesco still leads the market dropping their hold slightly to 30.3% of the grocery market with Asda at 16.9% and Sainsbury increasing to 16.5% snapping at their heels.

Fraser McKevitt analyst at Kantar worldwide explained the growth in the discount sector

“With economic uncertainty increasingly in the news it is no surprise that shoppers are being cautious with their spending, The majority of people continued to seek value through promotions in the mainstream retailers, rather than trading down to the discounters.”

The increase in the discount stores was explained as consumers spending more perhaps on seasonal goods rather than changing their usual first choice supermarket.