Tesco has this week launched an ad campaign claiming that it is Britain's cheapest supermarket.

The campaign, appearing online and in stores, compares the cost of typical shopping baskets at Tesco with the same baskets from rivals Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's.

Tesco commercial and marketing director Richard Brasher said supermarkets have for years made claims and counter claims about which is the cheapest and “our new real baskets look at the actual products people buy every day so customers can be confident that our price claims reflect real shopping”.

The campaign backs Tesco's£100 million of permanent price cuts and promotions on more than 3,000 products. It also follows Asda's new year price offers, which cut the cost of 1,000 products.