ASA bans Sports Direct 50% off Puma deal advert over RRP claims
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a Sports Direct advert for a “50% off” promotion, amid claims that a product’s original recommended retail price (RRP) and related savings were misleading.
A complaint by consumer organisation Which? related to a product page on the Sports Direct website, seen on 10 February 2026, for a Puma “Women’s Zipped Baselayer Top.”
Subscribe to TRBThe advert featured the text “from £17.00 RRP £45.00 [struck through].” Further text underneath the price stated “UP TO 50% OFF.”
Which? said it believed the quoted RRP differed significantly from the price at which the product was generally sold. The organisation challenged whether the reference price and associated savings claims were misleading.
In response, Sports Direct owner Frasers Group said it had obtained written confirmation from Puma that the RRP for the “Women’s Zipped Baselayer Top” featured in the ad had always been £45.
It said Puma had also confirmed that the product was sold by them for £45 from at least 1 February 2023 to 22 April 2024.
Frasers Group provided screenshots of parts of Puma’s price list for Spring/Summer 2024 to Spring/Summer 2026, which showed the RRP for the product had not changed. It also provided a screenshot from another retailer showing the product being sold for £43.94.
However, the ASA upheld the complaint, as CAP Code guidance on RRPs states that even if an advertiser can provide evidence that a quoted RRP was recommended by the manufacturer, that may be insufficient if they cannot demonstrate the product was actually sold at that price.
In response, Sports Direct said: “Sports Direct regard this ruling as fundamentally wrong and will be contesting it fully.”
It added: “The ASA’s underlying approach to the use of RRPs, and their test, is fundamentally flawed and ‘out of touch’ anyway.
“We do not accept that it is the valid legal test for whether an RRP is misleading or not, or that it reflects consumers’ understanding of RRPs, which have been around for many decades.”
Sports Direct said it believed that both the RRP and discounted price seen in the ad were fair and accurate.
