PETA’s ‘degrading’ portrayal of woman as a trapped dog okay, says ad watchdog
The Advertising Standards Board has dismissed complaints about a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) ad featuring a woman portraying a dog stuck in a hot car, saying advertisers can use “whomever they wish” in their promotions and arguing gender, in this instance, is irrelevant.
Complaints said the ad was “offensive”, “sexist” and “degrading”
Originally launched in 2012 for PETA UK, the ad features Italian model Elisabetta Canalis, pretending to be a dog who is stuck in a hot car, eventually dying of heatstroke.
The ad sees Canalis search for water, try to unlock the car door, and shake and kick the door before losing consciousness. The spot ends with the words “Dogs can suffer form heatstroke and die in a matter of minutes when left in a car on a warm day. Leave your dog at home.”
Not degrading then why use a woman when out of male and female they are the degraded sex. The rate of women killed around the world due to family violence is much is higher than men and this ad portraying a woman as a dog is outrageous. We know that dogs are touted as mans best friend and trained to obey orders then why use a woman in such form to represent the obeying dog. So sad to see this Italian model agree to this abhorrent advertising and degration of women. This is the first time I saw this ad on free TV and I am saddened and outraged as to how it passed sensors. Tipping a male produced this ad???
PETA actually did a similar male version of this as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBTGcWUf2ts
I really don’t see why it makes any difference the sex of the person in the car. The message is a good one
I’m with you Claire. Katherine, if you try hard enough you can come up with a theory for anything. I think you’re trying a little too hard here.
You do realize the derogatory term for a female is a bitch? Do you understand now why it is offensive to women.
This ad is unforgettable and effective. It shows exactly how cruel it is to leave a dog in what is essentially a blazing hot oven. I’m sure anyone who watches this will think twice before leaving their pup in a parked car, even for “just a minute.”
The ad is very well thought out, beautifully executed and makes total sense. In Katherine’s argument the men killed in action, 10,000 a day at the Somme alone, seem to be unimportant, but the fact is that dogs, like humans, are to be found in both male and female,in this case we assume it is a bitch, but of course, not a “Bitch.” There is one small irony, Et al, if we remove the Latin “al” from Elisabetta’s family name, we are left with Canis.
I really don’t see the point of using a hot/sweaty woman. It takes away from the shockingness of it. Not effective at all imo. I don’t see the point really. And saying “dogs die in cars etc” whilst pointing the camera at her. What did they expect was going to happen.
@Joe, I think the point is not that you see a hot/sweaty woman, but a human being under stress in a predicament in which some people are willing to leave a dog. Both dogs and humans come in male and female, I don’t believe that the gender is important, but it can’t be avoided in the case of either.