Another British brand tries trolling non-customers as a marketing strategy

The Sun

Remember the controversy over Protein World's "Beach Body Ready" ads last year? The ads sparked a firestorm of Twitter protest, inspired vandalism and parody ads, and was eventually banned by the ASA.

The campaign, which Adland's Dabitch described as "trolling as a social media strategy," resulted in huge amounts of earned media and — according to Marketing — £1million in direct sales revenue.

I've never been a fan of the cliché, "there's no such thing as bad publicity," but for brands that are seeking to grow a narrow-but-oppositional target market, it can work.

The Sun

Enter Gourmet Burger Kitchen, a UK chain that decided to dust off an old chestnut for meat vendors: Making fun of vegetarians.

The Sun

The reaction was as big as it was predictable:

@KirstenHenry these are more appropriate ads....mocking people that care about animals ✊🏼💦 #gourmetmurderkitchen pic.twitter.com/LcNnFOSTtf

— paul warmington (@paulwarmo) January 18, 2016

The advertiser has since made a tepid apology on Facebook, and has promised to take down "some of" the ads. But a follow up survey, published in The Drum, showed that the campaign was likely to increase sales slightly.

Which makes me wonder, are angry social media protests over campaigns like these just playing into the hands of the most cynical marketers? Do activists risk becoming one more channel for earned media?

I'd love to hear some opinions about what's happening, and what could go differently.

Weren't we supposed to stop using captive great apes in ads, Google?

Business Insider just published Ace Metrix's list of top-performing ads in 30 categories for the first quarter of 2015. Among them is Google's "Friends Furever" spot for Android:

Wait a minute here: Didn't the US Ad Council announce that it no longer supports the use of great apes in ads back in 2008?

PETA has been lobbying the ad industry to stop using apes as props for years. As a result,  Omnicom Group's BBDO, GSD&M and Merkley & Partners; Interpublic's McCann Erickson, DraftFCB and RPA; Havas' Arnold and Euro RSCG; WPP's Grey Group, Ogilvy & Mather, Young & Rubicam and JWT; and Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett all agreed to stop using great apes in ads in 2011. The Google ad was created by Droga5, who apparently didn't get the memo.

I'm not PETA's greatest fan, but as a human (and having the Jane Goodall Institute as a client) the exploitation of our closest cousins by my industry troubles me.

The challenge with using any animals in advertising is their treatment, since they are not willing performers. The most intelligent social animals, such as great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans), elephants, and whales/dolphins, are wild animals that suffer from anxiety and depression when removed from their peers — even if captive bred. (Dogs are domestic animals, so they're a little bit of a different issue.)

The Google ad has representatives of all three of these animal groups performing for your amusement, and that of 16 million of your closest friends.

Jane Goodall is asking people like us, who create ads and entertainment, to sign a pledge not to use captive great apes in our work. I think it's time we stopped treating our cousins like props.

Better meat is coming to fast food

I've been going on about it for a few years now, but it's actually happening.

Chipotle dropped the gauntlet with its promise of more local, sustainable sources. McDonald's has tried to become more transparent about its farm-to-fork supply chain (especially in Canada and Australia). Also in Canada, an independent A&W promises "hormone-free" beef and chicken raised without antibiotics.

Now American chain Carl's Jr. (whose gratuitously sexed-up ads frequently feature here) is doing something really smart: They're offering their customers a choice.

According to Burger Business, Carl’s Jr. is ready to introduce the first “all-natural, no hormones, no antibiotics, no steroids, grass-fed, free-range beef patty” from any major quick-service (fast food) chain in the United States.

But they're not replacing their ordinary beef burgers, just offering the more natural beef as an upgrade:

“We’ve seen a growing demand for ‘cleaner,’ more natural food, particularly among Millennials, and we’re proud to be the first major fast-food chain to offer an all-natural beef patty burger on our menu. Millennials include our target of ‘Young Hungry Guys’ and they are much more concerned about what goes into their bodies than previous generations,” Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for Carl’s Jr., said in a statement announcing the new burger. “Whether you’re into more natural foods or not, it’s simply a damn good burger.”

Great news for people concerned about where their meat comes from, and how the animal lived. Now it's up to the restaurant's regulars to put their money where their mouths are.

PETA's latest assault on the dignity of humans

Adland

You know the drill:

1. Post offensive, sexually provocative ad
2.
3. Save animals

Or at least that's how it goes in the minds of the people behind PETA ads. They seem to be under the impression that there's "no such thing as bad publicity." Well, there is.

If you're a feminist, and you support this organization, you are suffering from something called "cognitive dissonance." Look it up. And make a decision as to whether promoting veganism by degrading humans is really OK with your human rights beliefs.

I won't comment further on this garbage. "Dabitch" at Adland already explained it all.

Rogue Pizza Hut does one of the dumbest cross-promotions ever

Animal welfare advocates have their hands full on holidays, trying to convince people not to give puppies as Christmas gifts, or live chicks for Easter. The thinking behind this is that adopting a pet should be the result of a thoughtful commitment to being a responsible owner, not an impulse. Otherwise, animals can suffer from neglect.

So it's rather disappointing that this Australian Pizza Hut location made small live animals a premium for their loyalty program. i100 reports that the promotion was posted and discussed on the Facebook page of an animal rights group Oscar's Law, resulting in a formal complaint.

Oscar's Law says that they have since been sent this message from Corporate:

It has come to our attention that one of our stores have recently been running a promotion which was not approved by Pizza Hut Australia, nor was condoned in any circumstances. We would like to sincerely apologise to anyone who was offended by this. 

The poster has since been taken down and all those involved have been made aware of the severity and inappropriateness of the promotion. We would like to thank Oscar's Law and all those who have brought this to our attention this evening. 

On behalf of Pizza Hut Australia we once again apologise for this thoughtless promotion ever occurring and would like to reassure you all that this matter is being seriously dealt with.

Score another one for social media activism!

Swiss animal rights group objects to bunny in a thong

There are very serious animal abuses going on in the world. This is not one of them.

This cheesy little ad, with the headline, "This year, Easter is full of surprises," appeared in Switzerland to promote a shopping mall. According to Tages Anzeiger, it has drawn the ire of a local animal welfare group, Der Tierschutz beider Basel (Animal Welfare Basel) also known as TBB.

Daniel Bader, Manager at TBB for fundraising and communications, told Tages, "We see the dignity of this rabbit clearly violated. This image promotes zoophilia, ranging from sexual attraction to the sexual abuse of animals."

Asked to provide his perspective on what constitutes oversexualization of animals in advertising, Herr Bader explained, "There are no clear rules or principles held in this area... At the end of the subjective perception of each individual counts."

Indeed. And someone, subjectively, got sexually excited by this poorly executed idea. It wasn't me. Was it you?

H/T Dangerous Minds

PETA's modest promposal for KFC's "Chicken Corsage"

KFC's "Chicken Corsage" stunt for prom season was gross enough on its own, but now PETA is upping the ante:

Thanks, guys.

McDonald's (Canada) wants you to see how McNuggets are made

We've all seen the image. Pink goop that looks like strawberry ice cream gets extruded from a machine. It's claimed to be everything from ammonia-treated beef to Chicken McNuggets. It's this generation's version of "worms in the burgers."

The picture is real, and it shows highly-processed chicken that has been mechanically-separated from odds and ends of birds. But it's not how McNuggets are made. At least, not now.

The following video is one of the latest efforts by McDonald's Canada to be more transparent about its ingredients. And if you're used to dealing with meat, it's not even that gross:



Personally, I'm more concerned with how the chickens were housed, fed, slaughtered and processed before they hit the grinders — not to mention how well the meat is monitored for contamination and most of all how the workers are treated.

You can read a hilarious PR blog full of doublespeak here. (My favourite line: "From Alive Chicken to Not-Alive Chicken.") However, when I read that "80-90,000 chickens are processed daily" I am not exactly reassured.

But whatever your personal sensitivities are about the meat industry, it's at least fair to say the McNuggets didn't come from "pink slime."

The McRib, on the other hand...

Do these weird SPCA ads send the wrong message?

These Malaysian SPCA ads by M&C Saatchi are easy enough to understand: Pets are more fun than toys.

But should the SPCA be pushing pet adoption in this way? Dogs and cats are not at all like the toys in these ads; they're a long-term commitment that can't be tossed aside like a gumball machine trinket.

Tip via Ads of The World.

PETA continues to wage war on (human) fur

Since plain old nudity doesn't seem to grab any attention anymore, PETA has started looking for new taboos to exploit. One of the latest is female pubic hair.

I noted the start of this trend last year, when the animal welfare activists launched this anti-fur campaign:

While I realize that "bush" has been out of fashion among younger people for a few years (in 2010, porn star Sasha Grey provoked actual disgust and outrage when she did a nude scene in Entourage while sporting a pubic tuft) it's been over a year since sources like Jezebel have been declaring its renaissance.

Style aside, I think PETA's parody of pubic hair is dumb. Intimate grooming is increasingly becoming a feminist issue, like leg and pit hair were in the early days. But then again, when you base most of your advertising on sexualizing young women (in this case, model/actress Joanna Krupa) to get cheap attention for animals, I guess you're not to concerned about female empowerment.



Tip via Adrants

PETA has a situation here #FdAdFriday

Now THAT's some bad punnery.

Via Gawker.

Domino's praised by Big Agriculture for still crating pigs

While McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's have followed Chipotle's lead in phasing out the use of nasty gestation crates in their pork supply chain, apparently Domino's will not follow suit. This despite the fact that both consumers and animal welfare professionals are pressuring them to do so.

While this is a potential PR black eye for the hold-out, Domino's has earned a new fan in The Texas Farm Bureau.

Michael Barnett, via Twitter

From their blog:

"It’s about time one of the major fast food franchises showed some backbone to the animal rights activist group. Other fast-food companies—including Burger King, McDonald’s and Wendy’s—have caved to their demands, fearing HSUS will stir public outcry and reprisal if they don’t."

Interestingly, the writer, Director of Publications Mike Barnett says "I’m not defending nor condemning their use. I truly don’t know enough about pork production to make that judgment." He defers to the American Veterinary Medical Association's recommendation that "to address animal welfare in the long term, advantages of current housing systems should be retained while making improvements in design to overcome problems identified."

In other words, the AVMA believes that current cage systems need to be improved, but that there are some advantages to separating sows from their fellow pigs when breeding them in factory farms.

Mr. Barnett doesn't really care about that, however. He's just happy that Domino's didn't play "follow-the-leader in these fast-food follies."

Follow-the-leader in responding to consumer demand for less cruelty in the animal food supply chain? Whatever you say. The same blog also vilifies market farmers who advertise "hormone-free" meat (“Really? I know I have hormones. My girlfriend has hormones. You have hormones. Don’t you think cows have hormones?” Mr. Barnett writes) and wishes starvation on "food activists", "tree huggers" and "bureaucrats". (I won't take a shot at his defence of "pink slime" in the beef industry, however, as I also took issue with the media hype around the issue — but from a different angle.)

Big Agriculture is attempting to buttress Domino's resolve. The publication Farm & Dairy and Drovers Cattle Network echo the Farm Bureau's call to buycott Domino's:

There is also an "Ag Pizza Party" event on Facebook, with 1,245 people confirming their support of Domino's so far.

I'm not a Domino's consumer anyway (local mom & pop joints FTW) so they probably don't care what I think about their supplier choices. But what I find interesting is the way that the reactionary forces of industry are rallying to fight the online fight to improve animal welfare conditions on farms. 

In the end, pizza fans will decide.

The Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door

PETA is finally getting around to addressing the most important issue yet in animal welfare: Who are the sexiest non-celebrity vegetarians willing to objectify themselves for the cause?

Will it be Stephanie of Roseville, CA, who (in addition to the fact that she is naked) would like you to know, "There is an unfiltered kindness and love in an animals eyes that you just can't find in a persons" (sic)?

Or Erika of Greenville, SC, who riddles us this: "If you love animals called pets, why do you eat animals called dinner?"

There are men in the running as well.

Zachary of Brooklyn, NY, who seems to have a hard time keeping his underpants up, says "No animals were harmed in the making of this body."

Malik of Pembroke Pines, FL, says "Animals have a place in my heart, not in my stomach".

You only have two weeks left to vote for the two winners, who will then be sent to Hawaii together to  prove how much sex vegetarians can have. (Presuming they're both straight. But I don't want to promote any stereotypes here...)

See all the contestants at the PETA site.

Interestingly, the women outnumber the men by more than 5:1.

PETA trolls the Miami Marlins

Now, this is the kind of PETA I'd like to see more of:

The above is a mock-up of a sponsored paving stone that PETA put into the promenade of the Miami Marlins new ballpark.

The slogan is actually an acrostic that reads: F I S H I N G H U R T S (dot) C O M.

I'm not a PETA fan, and I like to go fishing. But I appreciate a good prank. Plus, it's very appropriate for Easter, since acrostics were a popular code among early Christians.

It may not be effective social marketing, putting a hidden message out, but the earned media around it should garner a few extra clicks.

At least no humans were abused in this one.

Courtney Stodden for PETA

Oh. My. God.

So this happened:



PETA's description: "In this video that Courtney and her dog, Bazaar, shot for PETA, the teen newlywed shares how eating cruelty-free has helped her save animals' lives, protect the environment, and get a figure that the shutterbugs can't get enough of."

I swore I would stop blogging about this teenage trainwreck of a manufactured celebrity. But then she had to go and do a PSA! So this is actually kind of relevant.

I'm not sure why PETA chose her, beside the fact that she claims to be a vegetarian and craves attention. She's not exactly good at the "speaking" part of the whole "spokesperson" thing. But at least she kept more clothes on here than in most of her public photoshoots. Which is kind of ironic for a PETA ad.

Herman Cain's latest ad is really special

Shades of Monty Python and The Holy Grail...

Herman Cain has really gone off the deep end, and has now become a comedy act.



I thought we had heard the last of Mr. Cain's bizarre campaign ads after he dropped out of the Republican leadership race. But now he's pitching sickofstimulus.com to promote his ideas about smaller and cheaper government.

Interestingly, the site has a poll:

After viewing the Rabbit video, do you think it was offensive?Even if you didn’t like it, do you think it should've been censored by YouTube?If the video had remained down permanently, do you think it was a violation of Cain Connections’ First Amendment right of Freedom of Speech?

I missed the censorship episode, although I am pretty sure no animals were harmed in the filming of this bit of crazy. There are much worse things out there.

PETA prescribes meatlessness in mock pharma ad

It's pretty funny ay first, but goes on for way too long. And for the record, I'm against factory farming too. I prefer to eat animals that were loved to death.

"Bro Cruelty" parodies Sarah McLachlan's sappy animal welfare PSA

BuzzFeed posted this pretty good parody of Sarah McLachlan's animal welfare PSA by Socially Awkward:



The original:

This Katherine Heigl PSA is completely nuts

I've already profiled this hilarious ad on Osocio last night, but I wanted to share it here for the morning crew.

Former Grey's Anatomy actress Katherine Heigl stars in this video promoting the spaying and neutering of pets. But she says that it isn't about the animals for her — she just really hates balls.

Katherine Heigl Hates Balls from Katherine Heigl      

It's a fantastic performance. Funniest PSA of the year, easily. And, following Snooki's perfume debut on the site, this video establishes Funny or Die as a viable advertainment medium.

The ihateballs.com site is also worth checking out, if only for the merch.

Well, now that's awkward...

Many snakes were harmed in the making of this fashion spread

Apparently snakeskin is a thing in fashion this year. I'm not morally opposed to the wearing of animal skin, but I find this spread by Giampaolo Sgura in Antidote unsetting. The wild harvest of pythons just for their skins seems wasteful and irresponsible to me. And naked Ashley Smith letting a live one slither over her sultry nude form as she wears the hides of its brethren is also a little ick.

Via Animal NY, where you can see the rest of the pics.