The Nastiest PETA Ad Ever?
Last month, we shared a compilation of the top ten most offensive and misleading ads produced by the deceptively named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). But it looks like we spoke too soon: The self-proclaimed press sluts have topped themselves—or, perhaps more accurately, stooped to a new low.
PETA installed a new U.K. billboard featuring a surprised-looking woman splashed with white fluids. The advertisement—captioned “Some Bodily Fluids are Bad for You” with the fine print “Ditch Dairy. Go Vegan.”—is a far-from-subtle reference to a sex act, a tasteless reference purportedly designed to encourage a vegan diet.
However, as you might expect, most members of the community just couldn’t swallow the outrageously inappropriately ad. Amid protests, the ad was taken down.
In a blog post celebrating the campaign, PETA explained: “We love finding cheeky ways to grab people’s attention for animals, and our latest billboard is certainly going to stop passers-by!” But so far, it looks like people are only paying attention to PETA’s outrageously offensive tactics.
We think it’s pretty safe to say that the billboard has prompted more conversations about the rights of women instead of the rights of animals. As one advocacy group explains: “PETA’s sexist, misogynist adverts aim to be original and thought-provoking but they are neither.”
Given that the group has flippantly referenced mental illness and female obesity in other publicity stunts, it should probably come as no surprise that PETA is breezily dismissing its depiction of sexual degradation as just another “cheeky” media grab.
Forget dairy. Let’s hope this offensive press stunt persuades people to ditch PETA.