...On behalf of United Poultry Concerns, I am writing to express our objection to your Grand Canyon and Natural History commercials and to request that in future ads you do not place any more birds in literally or implicitly harmful situations.
Having talked with your advertising manager Al Johnson who faxed me the letter from the American Humane Association's communications manager Karen Rosa, I still don't know whether the duck(s) in those ads were physically harmed. But even if no ducks were harmed, the Grand Canyon commercial implies that the duck fell from an enormous height and landed hard. In the final shot it looks like the duck was pushed off something about 6 feet high. (Pekin ducks don't fly or jump from heights.)
We ask that you stop putting animal abuse images in people's minds. As a former juvenile probation officer in Baltimore who is now the head of an animal protection organization, I know that many children and teenagers are influenced by programming that treats animals derisively and/or places them in unnatural, potentially harmful situations. We ask you not to cater any further to this mentality...
I thought they were going to protest the commercial that showed a duck in bed with two people. You know what THAT implied. |