Why does PETA always use such consistently alienating advertisements? Their most recent was a poster saying “Would you give your right arm to know why sharks attack? Could it be revenge? Go vegetarian!” Bad taste? Of course. But aren’t they losing a whole hell of a lot of moderate would-be supporters who are generally concerned with animal rights? Or are they just using the old THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BAD PUBLICITY tack?
Do you really think you will get a General Answer to this question?
I, for one, would welcome an official statement (or a citation of one) regarding why PETA thinks that confrontational ads are effective.
Any other response is not a General Answer.
PETA bashers in this thread will have their posts deleted. At the very least.
That would be because this is the wrong forum for gratuitous bashing, right Manny? Some people might take your comment the wrong way.
I’ve e-mailed PETA asking them why some of their campaigns seem designed to shock and offend. I hope I’ll get an answer within a few days, and if I do, I’ll let you know.
That’s exactly right, Diceman. Longtime members of this board will know that I have no particular interest in defending PETA. I do however, have a very high interest in keeping GQ free of political debate.
Thanks for encouraging me to make that explicit. I should have done so originally.
My wag is that PETA has a sense of moral superiority and what they are trying to do it the correct thing to do. I would go so far as to say they are of the opinion that the rest of us are blind and if we only would open our eyes we would see that what we are doing is wrong. They are using the shock treatment to slap us across the face to come to reality.
Justa wag here - I tryed not to bash them and think I did ok (Manhattan wise).
I also think there is no way to answer your question with someone thinking you are bashing them so hopefully we can get some leaway for that. Plus I think I’ve been pretty good on these boards so I have some browney points stored up. (I wonder if the mods keep a database of somekind on how good/bad the posters are)
If you want to break through the clutter of advertising, you have to do it in one of a few tried and true methods. You repeat your obnoxious message nonstop (“Ring around the collar”) or you come up with something novel and attractive (PETA ran nude photos of models a few Christmases ago to encourage women not to wear fur) or shocking (the shark thing). In fact, humans kill far more sharks than sharks kill humans and some species of sharks are endangered, while there are all too many humans. I don’t speak for PETA, of course, but you’ll often see fringe groups using some shocking approach to get maximal impact from an ad. Barry Commoner’s presidential campaign ads began with the word “Bullshit.” Pretty shocking at the time. Greenpeace is forever hanging banners from the statue of liberty or other landmark. If fringe groups were given the attention they deserve instead of being frozen out of the media (and here my humble opinion comes to the fore) they would be able to participate in the barbecue of ideas along with the notions of our constitutionally elected president, americans would realize something closer to Jefferson’s ideal of a well educated populace and ideas could be evaluated on their own merits rather than on the merits of the spin and approval generated by the political parties, the talking heads, and the opinion makers. There is no rational reason to eat shark or meat of any kind except to generate an income for fishers and cattle growers. Not an opinion–fact. But when PETA suggests that we’re killing ourselves and our planet with our diet, they’re treated like pariahs, looneys, and freaks. In their favor, though PETA did not run the ad about the kid and the shark. Wisely, in my opinion.
Um… hunger is not a rational reason?
But you did a good job as to explaining it w/o bashing them
Although I wish it weren’t so, I agree with what’s been said here. I think it’s a good cause and I support animal rights, however, I can’t stand PETA. It’s a shame because PETA is a widely known group and could do much good for the issue.
I wrote them an e-mail probably a year or so ago and basically the response from PETA was: “The end justifies the means”.