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Go back to your roots

Posted in Advertising, Creative, Nikki Preston, Latest reporters' blogs September 21st, 2007 by Nikki Preston

Cow Both PETA and The Vegetarian Society have launched intense campaigns promoting vegetarianism.

I think both campaigns are pushing messages that are a little too far removed from the main reasons of subscribing to a meat-free diet.

The Vegetarian Society has launched a campaign highlighting how much carbon gas farmed animals produce. This is supposed to encourage people to stop eating meat by highlighting the fact that farmed animals produce more greenhouse gas emission than the world’s entire transport system.

The ad features an image of a cow and uses the strapline ‘Silent But Deadly’. This is followed with facts about the amount of greenhouse gas farm animals produce and the line ‘Makes you think doesn’t it?’. The ad concludes with the words ‘It’s not just a lot of hot air’.

However, will ruling out meat really help reduce carbon emissions or will it result in more animals roaming around producing more gas?

And if you were really committed to saving the environment then surely you would look at taking more logical steps like riding your bike to work. Recycling and planting trees?

The ad seems far fetched and even some of my friends who are vegetarians are unconvinced that it is the right message to convert meat eaters.

Meanwhile PETA is trying to encourage vegetarianism with a new campaign that launched this week, featuring a starkers Alicia Silverstone saying that since she has become a vegetarian she feels much better. The images are of the former Clueless star emerging from a swimming pool and aims to illustrate the benefits through images of her body.

However, while this maybe true there are also a lot of arguments for eating meat such as the iron which red meat provides and the omega 3 oils and vitamins A and D found in oily fish.

Basically, I think both organisations should go back to basics and hit home with the real reasons which make people want to stop eating meat such as stopping cruelty to animals and of course not eating their friends because they seem to be the main reasons people convert.

What do you think about the new ads, do they serve their purpose or are they just grasping at straws?

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Tags The Vegetarian Society, PETA, Food, Advertising, Marketing, Vegetarianism

Comments (2)

Melinda Varley’s comment is....

I agree that we should stop over-farming animals such as cows in order to curb excess consumption of meat. As a society, we definitely over consume, and yes there are benefits to eating meat, but most dieticians would recommend we only eat it twice a week. Pursuing this message would perhaps be more tactful and probably reach more people as it concerns diet - which many women would take on board. It would also make a lot more sense. Seeing Alicia Silverstone naked for PETA sends a similar message to its anti-fur campaigns. I am thinking what does it tell me about meat?

Posted September 24th, 2007 at 2:57 pm

JunkkMale’s comment is....

Personally I’d do a little bit less predatory award-prowling via cheap and easy negative (which is what I think most ‘Charity’ ads are grasping for in blowing budgets) executions and try and earn one’s keep (and maybe make a difference) by selling the positives.

The PETA ad is on the way, but personally I’d need to be persuaded that not succumbing to the exhortations of Beefy and Lamby did not involve a cow’s exhaust (I believe it’s their burps that are the culprit) when thinking of food, eating nut cutlets and being a shrew. Being married to a Chinese wok-mistress I know it can work when the option is served up in a way to make me actually want to bite.

There’s also the small recognition that nature made most of us omnivores. So one needs to work with the design constraint rather than ignoring it.

ps: reuse and not cutting down forests in the first place are much better than recycling or planting trees if you’re not into the reduction thing, in which case also try insulation, insulation, insulation. Trust me, I work with Junkk.com, and they know all about waste and rubbish ideas when they see ‘em.

Posted September 27th, 2007 at 4:31 pm

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