ASA Adjudication on Mars Petcare UK Ltd

Ad

A national press ad, for Pedigree®Joint Care+, was headlined "Ready to get up and go again". Text below stated "Seven-year-old Kola had begun to take life at a slower pace, but Pedigree®Joint Care+ helped her get back her bounce Kola the Rottweiler used to be so active and full of fun that it was hard to keep her from jumping up joyfully to meet guests … 'When she met people she would go up onto her hind legs and hug them like a bear', says owner Deborah. But when Kola turned seven, Deborah started to notice a change in her mobility. 'Kola began going up and down the stairs in quite a strange way, doing little bunny hops from the top to the bottom'. What's more, Kola seemed to be abandoning her favourite routines, 'I noticed she was no longer following me round the house while I was doing the housework', Deborah recalls. 'Kola normally wouldn't let me out of her sight but she started just lying on her bed, as she was quite stiff getting up'. So Deborah decided to try Kola on Pedigree®Joint Care+. They're tasty treats that contain CPA Complex®, a unique blend of glucosamine, chondroitin and omega-3 - all ingredients that can help ease joint stiffness in dogs. In fact, by feeding them on a daily basis, owners could notice a difference in as little as six weeks, as Deborah did. 'Within several weeks Kola was playing with her toys again, jumping in and out of the car more easily and she even took to running on the beach. This product is an absolute blessing - I can't thank Pedigree®enough'. So why not try the Pedigree®Joint Care+ Challenge? By feeding these treats every day for six weeks you could see a real difference in your dog's mobility … ".

The ad featured a picture of Kola jumping, with the caption "New lease of life: within six weeks of owner Deborah (above) feeding her Pedigree®Joint Care+, Kola's bounce had returned".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the ad exaggerated the efficacy of the product.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Pedigree said they were careful to ensure all claims were consistent with information given on the product packs and with the relevant guidance; they did not feel that the ad exaggerated the efficacy of the product.

They referred to the research they had undertaken, which confirmed to them the level of mobility improvement in dogs that had taken the product for six weeks, and stated the improvement noticed by Kola's owner reflected that.  They said they had received 343 testimonials from owners who all reported similar benefits for their dog's joint mobility to those noticed in Kola; in addition 120 owners who had registered for the "6 Week Challenge" on the Pedigree Joint Care+ website had also provided stories that reported the difference they had seen in their dogs.  Pedigree said their research showed an improvement in some dogs in a shorter timeframe however they had used "six weeks" in the ad to set accurate expectations for readers because it was after that time that improvements were most likely to be seen.

Pedigree provided the email Kola's owner had sent to them and stated that, although they had "softened" some of the language to ensure no medicinal claims were made, the ad accurately reflected the account of a grateful consumer and of others who had noticed similar results.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA understood that Pedigree had taken steps to use only selected phrases from the testimonial so as not to imply the product could provide a medicinal benefit, but that the ad otherwise represented the experience of that particular owner.  We also acknowledged that Pedigree had provided evidence to show that 72% of owners and vets had perceived an average improvement of 31% in the mobility of some dogs as a result of feeding them the product for six weeks.

We noted the ad showed the text "New lease of life" and "Kola's bounce had returned" alongside a picture of her jumping.  We considered however that further text such as "Kola had begun to take life at a slower pace", "jumping in and out of the car more easily" and "you could see a real difference in your dog's mobility" ensured that the overall impression created by the ad was not one of exaggerated difference in Kola's mobility before and after using the product.  We considered text such as "ingredients that can help ease joint stiffness" suggested the product might be able to help relieve discomfort but not that it could have a medicinal benefit.

Although the ad described a contrast in Kola's mobility before and after using the product, we did not consider it implied owners would see any greater benefit than Pedigree's research had shown or that the product would have a dramatic, medicinal effect.  We concluded that the ad was unlikely to mislead.

We investigated that ad under CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)