2088 Duty Calls

I saw a commercial recently and noted with some dismay that we've crossed another line in our continuing retreat from good taste. Thanks to Arm & Hammer. They recently released ads centered on the subject of odor-reducing kitty litter. 

Each of the ads makes the point that in the old days mothers would fend off the odiferous effects of cat excrement by using baking soda. And how today, by using technology that coats each absorbing kitty litter granule with baking soda, Arm & Hammer makes it much more effective. Then they crossed the line. They said it has double the odor control, because it "...controls not just urine odor, but also feces odor."

Well I would hope. If you're using baking soda to control odor I'm guessing it doesn't discriminate. It's just a chemical molecule. So why the needless specificity? One is led to conclude that other litter odor fighters find it too exhausting to absorb feces odor too. Urine just wears them out.

Or possibly that's never been an issue and it's just Arm & Hammer figuring they'll get more attention if they use the word "feces" over and over. Thanks Arm & Hammer.

Our vocabulary is littered with offal words as it is. No need to introduce feces into common parlance. Yes, it's acceptable, and yes it's been used for years on the rare doctor show, but really. Do you have to make a fetish of it in your commercial? Now that's all the kids will be shouting around the house. 

"Kitties and cats, they're such a stinky species. But urine luck, cause we can't smell their feces."  

Back when we were subtle, we called feces, "dootie." The Arm & Hammer product is called Double Duty.

Good ad people never let words go to waste...

America, ya gotta love it.