Ad description
A TV ad, for Go-Cat cat food, included a voice-over that stated, "In a world where nobody knows a neutered cat needs a special diet 'Brandon Meow' eats new Go-Cat for neutered cats, helping to keep his weight under control and maintaining a healthy urinary tract … Go-Cat for neutered cats, out now." On-screen text included "SPECIALLY FORMULATED", "HEALTHY WEIGHT", "HEALTHY URINARY TRACT" and "GO-CAT FOR NEUTERED CATS OUT NOW".
Issue
A viewer challenged whether the claim that neutered cats needed a special diet was misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
Nestlé Purina Petcare (UK) Ltd (Purina UK) believed the claim was supported by evidence and should be viewed in the context of the creative approach of the ad. They said there was a large amount of veterinary scientific research that suggested cats had a tendency to gain significant body fat after undergoing a neutering procedure. Purina UK submitted studies related to body weight and lower urinary tract infection. They said the studies, which were peer reviewed and published in widely respected veterinary scientific journals, met generally accepted standards and the results were statistically significant. They said the studies would not have been published if there was any concern about sample sizes or the results or conclusions of those studies. They said Go-Cat neutered products reflected the approach that neutered cats should have carefully controlled low fat diets. The products contained on average 12% more protein, 10% less fat and more fibre than a regular Go-Cat product for adult cats. In addition, the product packaging provided advice for owners on the correct amount of food to provide to their cat, dependent on its size. Purina UK provided information from animal welfare organisations, which related to the benefits of neutering.
They said weight management for cats was not a straightforward issue. Many owners feed their cat commercially pre-prepared cat food, but those who preferred to feed a home-prepared diet, could find it a challenge to provide the appropriate portion size for their pet. These portions could vary according to the cat's life stage (for example, if it was pregnant or neutered), lifestyle, breed or sex. They said a certain amount of guess work might occur and, for example, be influenced by the portions given to the same cat in the past or the owner's own perception of appropriate portion sizes for humans. They said portion control was not the only solution to appropriate weight management. It was often helpful also to tackle the protein to fat ratio of the food offered and to consider alternative types of protein, fat and carbohydrates, some of which could offer greater satiety and therefore help reduce over consumption. Although it was not the only option for doing so, Go-Cat Neutered could help with those issues, as a result of its formulation, if cat owners so wished.
They said "diet" or "special diet" could mean different things to different people, dependent on context and what was being communicated at the same time. They believed it was likely to be understood, as it was intended, as referring to what and how cat owners might feed their cat. Purina UK said "special diet" was not an expression that had a particular veterinary or scientific meaning and that "special" did not in itself add any specific meaning without further context. They said to interpret the words "special diet" as meaning "specialised", "specialist" or needing a "specific balance of nutrients", as the ASA suggested, seemed artificial and stretched the meaning to something akin to a medicinal or medically prescribed diet, or suggestive of some other therapeutic meaning. That was not the interpretation likely to be taken by most consumers. They said that view did not reflect the words used in the ad, or the dictionary definitions and plain meaning of such words, especially given the overall context provided by the ad, in particular the words "helping to keep his weight under control". They said consumer research had been carried out on the ad, which indicated that although 45% took the overall message that the product was specially formulated, only 14% took that as the main message.
Purina UK also believed consumers would not interpret the ad as suggesting a "specialised" diet was required in the context of neutered cats and for urinary health. They pointed out that the ad stated "helping to … [maintain] a healthy urinary tract". Their consumer research, conducted by a respected market research organisation, indicated that 34% of cat owners took "Go-Cat Neutered helps to maintain a healthy urinary tract in neutered cats" to be the main message and 62% took it as a message. Only 11% of cat owners did not take any of the prompted messages as being the main output of the ad. They submitted those results from their consumer research and said it was significant that the ideas of 'helping' and 'maintaining' were the messages taken from the ad by participants, not that a specialised or medicinal diet was required to address urinary health issues in neutered cats.
They said that while female cats, neutered or otherwise, had been observed to suffer from various urinary health issues, the study they had submitted made clear the increased risk associations for neutered cats, both male and female. Purina UK said the product was formulated to ensure that an optimal urinary pH was achieved in healthy cats, which was important because urinary pH could influence the formulation of different types of crystals and stones in the urine. If the urine was too acidic, calcium oxalate crystals or stones could form and struvite stones could form if the urine was too alkaline. They said the product was formulated to ensure a fine balance for urinary pH so as to minimise the risk of either type of stone in healthy cats. They said the product had been assessed for its mineral balance, and the effect on cats' urinary mineral composition, and had been evaluated through feeding trials. In addition, Clearcast had confirmed that a respected independent veterinary professor was comfortable with the statements in the ad.
Purina UK said further information on the advisable approach to dietary management was provided in the ad's messages related to weight and urinary tract. They said the ad made clear the product might "help" to achieve weight control and maintenance of a healthy urinary tract. The advertiser believed it would be unnatural to interpret the ad as suggesting that all neutered cats must be fed Go-Cat to stay healthy and that it was more likely to be understood to mean the product could help, if the cat owner chose to use it. Purina UK pointed out that the creative approach was intended to closely mimic the style of trailers for Hollywood blockbuster movies, including the voice-over and script which reflected the ad's tongue-in-cheek parody of such trailers. They said consumers were likely to be familiar with that style and would understand the ad as a spoof, rather than believing it to reflect specific veterinary advice. They believed the ad was not misleading and that the claims were neither unsubstantiated nor exaggerated. They did not intend to re-run it.
Clearcast said they had sought advice from their veterinary consultant before approving the script. The consultant believed it was generally accepted that neutered cats required careful dietary management and was satisfied that the nutrition information supplied by the advertiser supported the claims related to weight control and maintaining a healthy urinary tract. Clearcast considered the claims had been substantiated.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA acknowledged Purina UK did not intend to re-run the ad. We noted it appeared generally accepted that neutered cats could be prone to weight gain and that a carefully controlled diet was therefore recommended. We noted one of the studies, albeit based on small sample sizes, suggested that dietary control should be in terms of both portion size and energy intake. We understood the product was intended to assist dietary control by having, for example, reduced fat and that information was provided on its packaging in relation to appropriate portions. We considered consumers were likely to understand the presentation of the ad was that of a spoof, but that it would not be understood to mean only that a carefully controlled diet was recommended to prevent problematic weight gain in neutered cats. While we noted that the voice-over stated, "… helping to keep his weight under control", and considered the implication was not necessarily that the product could form part of a prescribed or medicinal diet, we considered the ad, in particular the claims "a neutered cat needs a special diet" and "SPECIALLY FORMULATED", was instead likely to be interpreted as suggesting a neutered cat required specialised and specific balances of nutrients, which could be provided by foods such as that advertised (but not only by Go-Cat Neutered).
We noted the consumer research submitted was intended to check whether the ad's intended message had been received and asked which impression was given most strongly about the brand as well as which other messages the ad had given. We understood only pre-determined options, such as "Go-Cat Neutered helps to maintain a healthy urinary tract in neutered cats" and "Go-Cat Neutered is specially formulated", were provided to the 100 participants and noted the research did not involve consumers giving their views on what claims such as "a neutered cat needs a special diet" and "SPECIALLY FORMULATED" meant to them. Because the study was conducted on a small scale and only pre-determined options were provided to participants, some of which included the words 'helps' and 'maintain', we considered it did not demonstrate that the average consumer freely took messages related to 'helping' and 'maintaining' from the ad.
We noted the ad included references to a healthy urinary tract as well as to weight control, which, in that context, we considered would also be interpreted as suggesting a specialised diet was required for "maintaining a healthy urinary tract". We noted the study that related to lower urinary tract diseases stated that castrated males and spayed females were at increased risk of lower urinary tract disease and the risk for those male cats was in association to all specific types of lower urinary tract disease defined in the study. We noted it also stated that sexually intact females were also associated with nearly all lower urinary tract diseases and that there was an association between spayed females and some types of urinary infection. Nevertheless, we also noted we had not seen evidence to demonstrate that a "special diet" was required for "HEALTHY URINARY TRACT" or "maintaining a healthy urinary tract" or that Go-Cat could help maintain a healthy urinary tract in neutered cats. We considered the ad misleadingly exaggerated the benefits of the product and therefore concluded that it breached the Code.
The ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 3.1 Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising), 3.9 3.9 Broadcasters must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that the audience is likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation) and 3.12 3.12 Advertisements must not mislead by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product or service. (Exaggeration).
Action
The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form. We told Purina UK to ensure future ads did not mislead by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product or service.
