Tesco is slammed for advertising vodka as 'essential' for students

7th September 2023

Tesco is slammed for advertising vodka as ‘essential’ for students at store next to Glasgow university

Tesco has been slammed for advertising vodka as essential for students at a store next to Glasgow university.

Bottles of vodka appeared on shelves alongside signs with ‘Student Essentials’ written on them at Tesco Express on Byres Road, in Glasgow.

The promotion saw four different types of the spirit marketed to undergraduates at Glasgow University, which currently has more than 25,000 students.

The ‘Student Essentials’ vodkas included 35cl bottles of Smirnoff and Glens alongside 35cl and 70cl bottles of Tesco’s own brand vodka.

Shopper Alistair McIntosh, 62, was horrified by the signs as he slammed Tesco for its ‘irresponsible’ marketing.

Tesco marketed bottles of vodka as ‘Student Essentials’ at a shop near Glasgow University

The shopper branded the display in the Tesco Express store in Glasgow city centre as ‘shocking’ and ‘irresponsible.’

Included in the display were bottles of Smirnoff for £11.75, Glen’s priced at £9 and Tesco own brand for £7.50.

The marketing display also had 70cl bottles of Tesco’s own brand vodka on offer at prices of £14.50 a bottle.

The mini-supermarket is just yards from the University of Glasgow – which has over 25,000 students.

Byres Road is a major road that runs through the centre of Glasgow’s West End.

The promotion appeared in Tesco’s store on Byres Road, in Glasgow, near the city’s university

Mr McIntosh, 62, who was shocked to see the display, said: ‘I just popped in to pick up a few items.

‘I thought it was a shocking and irresponsible approach to marketing. How can it be essential for a students?

‘The shop is right next to the uni,’ the 62-year-old said. ‘It is pathetic and wrong in every way.’

The supermarket giant said it has now removed the Student Essentials signs.

A Tesco spokesperson said: ‘This was an oversight and the signage has now been removed.’