When Is A Dog Treat Really A Medicine?

A complaint against Mars Petcare UK Ltd that an advert for its Pedigree® Joint Care+ treats exaggerated the benefits of the product, has been rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority, (ASA).

The ad, which appeared in the national press, described the recovery from stiffness of a seven year old Rottweiler after taking Pedigree® Joint Care+ for several weeks. In the advert, the dog's owner describes the problem, for example:

"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".

..and the solution:

"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".

The ASA accepted evidence from Pedigree showing 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.

The ASA reported:

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.

Despite the claims in the advert, the Authority concluded it would not mislead anyone into believing that the product would have a dramatic, medicinal effect. I'm convinced this is a close call by Pedigree and the ASA. At around fifty pence a chew it certainly sits at the more expensive end of the 'treats' market.