United States: NAD's Kitty Litter Pan Conclusions Don't Smell Quite Right?

NARB ratifies only half of NAD's Doskocil decision

Reigning Cats ...

The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) issued a split decision on a recent National Advertising Division (NAD) ruling dealing with the one downside involved in cat ownership: litter stink.

Yes, it's the only drawback. Some of us like the unpredictable temperament, the strange dead-animal gifts, and even the sense that a cat's aloof distaste masks the frustrated urges of a larger, more threatening predator. Don't ask us why.

Plus, they poop in the same place most of the time, on their own time – they don't force us to chase them around outside with a scooper or a wad of plastic bags on a cold winter morning.

But oy, the stink.

Cat Scratch Fever

Enter Doskocil Manufacturing Company, doing business as PetMate, which sells kitty litter pans under the Arm & Hammer brand. The product description on the Arm & Hammer-branded box is surrounded by text reading "With Built-In Antimicrobial Product Protection ... Inhibits the Growth of Odor-Causing Bacteria on the Pan."

Rival cat litter pan competitor Van Ness Plastic Molding Company challenged the claim before the NAD, arguing that the antimicrobial protection, infused in the pans by supplier Microban Company, was implying a health benefit claim protecting consumers against disease and an odor-elimination or improvement claim. Neither, the company argued, were verified.

NAD agreed, and asked Doskocil to remove the claims.

The Takeaway

NARB split the difference.

Regarding the conclusion that PetMate's product description implied a health benefit claim, the NARB broke with the NAD's decision, holding that the tag line did not constitute a health claim when read in context.

But the NARB favored the NAD on the more odiferous charge, agreeing that while Doskocil had provided evidence that its product reduced antimicrobial activity, its test method did not show whether users will detect a difference in the odor emanating from the pan.

Without proof of consumer relevance, NAD concluded, the implied odor-reduction claims should be discontinued. NARB agreed, and Doskocil promised to comply.

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