Costa Coffee wins recent battle with Starbucks over advertising and the use of their name in a disparaging fashion. In a recent advertising campaign for the UK, Costa claimed in the headline to be favored over Starbuck’s “by 7 out of 10 coffee lovers” driving Starbucks to file a complaint only to be rejected.

Image Courtesy: Marketing Magazine

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled in favor of Costa after concluding their investigation surrounding the ad campaign which debuted in March 2009.

In the complaint, Starbucks said the headlines for the advertisement were misleading and unfounded by flawed research. Starbucks further complained that the ad suggested a consumer preference for all Costa products over others versus only to cappuccinos as stated in the headline.

Costa rebutted that they clearly referred to cappuccinos and not to all Costa products. They further explained that the survey and research was detailed in explanation on its websites. Also in defence, Costa pointed out that the CAP copy advice team had reviewed the survey and had approved the claims for the advertisement.

The ASA ruled against Starbucks in all of their complaints. They also ruled that no further action was required on the matter.

Costa is no longer using the advertising in question, and Starbucks is sure that «the fact we [their coffee chain] have a record number of customers says more about it than a paid-for survey based on just 57 people.»