The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned ads from John Lewis, Debenhams and Boots for making misleading savings claims, following “proactive” monitoring of Black Friday promotions.

The rulings are part of a wider project on pricing practices and were flagged by the watchdog’s AI-powered Active Ad Monitoring system. It follows investigations made last November into hotel and travel companies who made misleading “from” price claims.

The ASA investigated a paid for Facebook ad from John Lewis for a MacBook Air, which was advertised a £150 saving and an online display ad which highlighted that customers could save £450 on a ASUS Zenbook.

It also looked into a two video display banner ads from Debenhams. One banner advertised home products with “-44 per cent” savings and the other showcased  several products including a hair styling tool with “-21 per cent” savings.

The regulator also investigated online display ad from Boots, which promoted a Boss fragrance that was reduced from £80 to £60.

According to the ASA, the savings claims made didn’t represent a “genuine saving against the usual selling price of the product”.

Operations Manager at the ASA Emily Henwood, said: “People rightly expect the deals they see around Black Friday to be genuine. These rulings send a clear message to retailers and brands that promotional events aren’t exempt from the rules.

“We expect advertisers to be able to demonstrate that the discounts they promote represent real savings so that people aren’t misled.”

The body has also banned two ads from Very, after Which? challenged the ad. It found that the savings claims were misleading.

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