PETA's latest campaign: Living With BWVAKTBOOM

[Big Good Wolf]

Doesn't she walk back to the house of her own free will and give a little smile right at the end ?
You'd be better off complaining about gender stereotyping, with the girl shopping while the boy does DIY, than imagining some domestic abuse story.

Anyway, there's a whole series of less controversial, but equally lame, video blog style ones here.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bwvaktboom

[baldy]

Made it into the Metro ->
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/890582-peta ... g-violence
Good or bad, lots of people in London will be reading about it this morning.

[xrodolfox]

I find this ad terrible, perhaps even worse than the battery of other PeTA ads out there.

I was just dealing with a friend who was responding to a FB post someone made that was making light of rape. Then I go online and see this ad, which titilates because it hovers near the imagery of rape/partner abuse. While it is clear *at the end* that rape/abuse is not part of the story, this ad goes too darn close to triggers and it uses that imagery in a very messed up method. This ad makes it seem like it's fair and sexy to hurt your partner during sex or outside of it, and in fact tries to make that seem innocent (the guy was all caring about hurting his partner), and it makes it seem like veganism is more "macho" due to the harm is can cause your female partner, and that women should like getting roughed up. On mainstream websites, the guys in the discussion threads seem to be focused on whether the guy is buff enough and how they have hurt their girlfriends more during sex than hurting their necks. This ad had led to some really dark places that have nothing to do with animal rights or veganism but rather with misogyny and sexism.

I find PeTA to generally be sexist, racist, classist, and really fucked up in general. I find that ads like this make it harder to create a better world for animals and humans. This ad, to me, is a case in point.

I really hate PeTA, and I wish I didn't because I love so much of their merch/literature and use their stuff in protests... but I tend to cross out the PeTA at the bottom because I do not support their retrograde philosophies.

[beforewisdom]

Personally, I think it's pretty stupid. But then again I think most 'health'-based arguments for veganism are pretty stupid.

I have problems with the unconscious attitude/conscious belief that *ANY* vegan diet is superior for health, but I also have a problem with the idea that there isn't a vegan health argument. There is just a ton of information that there are many vegan food choices which have significant effects on human health. I only agree that the "argument from health" is too easily side stepped by varying conditions......but I think those arguments do exist.......and they have a lower barrier to entry than ethical arguments. Most people don't want strangers coming up to them and talking to them about their ethics.

[JP]

i use the health argument often, beef is really bad for cows health!

havent watched this vid yet, and kind of interesting to read about the comments before watching it...

but PETA does what they always do, they are not stupid, they knew that the vid gets people talking - thats why they do it.

comment about how they could do so much more better stuff with their recourses is a good one - though they do a lot of stuff which doesnt grab the headlines. Investigations, research, provide tons of support and material for grassroots groups, advice and what not, a lot of things. Then it gets ruined with the deliberately controversial stunts...

[blinki]

Doesn't she walk back to the house of her own free will and give a little smile right at the end ?
You'd be better off complaining about gender stereotyping, with the girl shopping while the boy does DIY, than imagining some domestic abuse story.

Her own free will isn't a good argument. How many folk return to shit situations of their own "free will"? The smile at the end does help it. To me it’d be totally appealing otherwise.

The stereotypes are a problem too. The abuse stuff isn't about imagination. It's about what they are being suggestive of. I know several folk who have taken it that way so it’s not just some imagination flight of fancy. Maybe they have done it by accident but I imaging they have a very competent campaigns team who wouldn't do something by accident. So they are very likely deliberately trying to invoke the idea of abusing a woman in the process of promoting veganism.

[muchluv]

I think this is a good point, from: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/go-vegan- ... eta-138361

"I don't mind the basic concept, but the execution suffers because the woman appears victimized while her boyfriend's uninjured and rarin' to go. A PETA mouthpiece told the Daily News, "She’s coming back from the grocery store with an armful of vegetables because she enjoyed it so much." Maybe if the boyfriend was in traction as a result of their hyperactive, mutually enjoyable antics, and the couple shared a lascivious smile at the end, that idea would've been more clearly communicated".

I found this ad to be pretty gross/offensive personally.

[Konstantin]

Not comfortable about this at all. Sure, I hear women making quiet jokes about 'had a great night last night, can hardly walk today ' sort of thing, but the context is different. She's deliberately made to look a state so it looks like an abuse film before springing the suprise. Mostly I'm not happy with how it reflects on the vegan in the street (you and me) given that Peta have taken it on themselves to represent us, and that's what they do.

Advertising of any sort has two aims - to grab attention, and to get a point across. This seems to have the same symptom as most of Peta's, too much of 1 at the potential expense of 2.

I have problems with the unconscious attitude/conscious belief that *ANY* vegan diet is superior for health, but I also have a problem with the idea that there isn't a vegan health argument. There is just a ton of information that there are many vegan food choices which have significant effects on human health. I only agree that the "argument from health" is too easily side stepped by varying conditions......but I think those arguments do exist.......and they have a lower barrier to entry than ethical arguments. Most people don't want strangers coming up to them and talking to them about their ethics.

Well put.

[blinki]

I had a look at the website. There isn't even any info on veganism on it. Just a bit to send away for an info pack. While an info pack is nice, folk tend to use the net because they want info now. It means only folk seriously considering it will send away rather than educating some passing visitors while they are at it. It also means they seem to think being better in bed is enough to sell veganism to (young?) men since they aren't even bothering about talking about anything else. Completely stereotypical nonesense too

[beforewisdom]

The head of PETA Ingrid Newkirk said in a public interview that she is a "publicity hound" and considers any type of attention, good attention. If PETA gets attention for doing X, people will do X again.

The irony in threads like these, is that the people who are made upset by the PETA ads encourage new PETA ads to be made in the future.

[xrodolfox]

The irony in threads like these, is that the people who are made upset by the PETA ads encourage new PETA ads to be made in the future.

True... but I'm sure PeTA is more concerned with the mass media coverage rather than what a vegan message board of mostly people from across the pond write. PeTA gets news from fighting against potential allies on the left. It'd be refreshing if that racist-sexist-classist organization pissed off the religious right or those union busting capitalist libertarians for once... but PeTA doesn't do that.
I really hate PeTA sometimes.

[Richard]

It gets PETA attention, not sure that it gets animal rights any positive attention

[mabli]

not at all happy about this ad, just cos she goes back doesnt mean anything, i suffered years of domestic abuse and just couldnt escape, its very complicated... its not ok to hurt someone... when you've been raped or battered your partner can apologise and be sorry, its a nasty circle thats very hard to break out of and making light of it is not funny, not funny at all