• New York Times, Friday, October 8, 2010 8:53 AM

Andrew Adam Newman reports this morning that yet another advertising taboo has been broken. Church & Dwight's Arm & Hammer brand is introducing a new variety of cat litter called Double Duty that actually admits that cats poop stinks. At least the other guy's cat's poop does.

"Now there's a new litter that even eliminates feces odors," says an actress in a spot for the brand. "Your litter may control urine odor, but what about feces? Only Double Duty litter combines advanced odor eliminators with Arm & Hammer baking soda to destroy both overpowering smells on contact." Man, just like bug spray. I'm thinking a committee came up with this one.

But it turns out that consumer research was employed. Ed Kline, product manager for the pet care group at Church & Dwight, which owns the Arm & Hammer brand, says cat owners had low expectations of their litter and "unmet needs." They figured if litter was eliminating the stench of urine, it was doing its job.

Plus, there's a "sensory panel" at Church & Dwight that employees with a good sense of smell are eligible to join. Consider it a perk, jokes director of research and development for home products Ray Brown, "that if you have good olfactory acuity then you may have the opportunity to smell cat feces twice a day."

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