A U.S. appeals court has resolved a question first posed in advertisements 45 years ago: Is Certs a breath mint or a candy mint?
It’s a breath mint, and therefore not subject to customs duties imposed on food imports, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled May 11. The ruling was a victory for Certs maker Cadbury Schweppes PLC and Pfizer Inc., which sold its Adams candy unit to London-based Cadbury Schweppes for $4.2 billion in 2003.
Certs television advertisements during the 1960s and 1970s featured two people disputing whether the product was a breath mint or a candy mint, followed by the tag line that Certs is “two, two, two mints in one.”
The U.S. Customs Service’s decision in 1999 to classify Certs as food “overlooked some characteristics” of the mint and “read the term ‘hygiene’ too narrowly,” the appeals court in Washington ruled.
Customs, in deciding Certs should be classified as a food and subject to duties when imported into the United States, had said Certs Cool Mint Drops “consist essentially of sugar.” Pfizer lawyer Patrick D. Gill said Certs are imported from Canada, Italy, and several Asian countries.
