Thursday August 27, 2009, 2:40 pm
PETA Billboard Apparently Targets Obese People
Organization Removes Controversial Ad After Complaints
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (CBS

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, has removed a controversial billboard in Jacksonville, Florida, after critics cried that the organization was mocking overweight people with its latest campaign.

But PETA insists they did not remove the billboard because of complaints, but instead because of positive feedback.

The original billboard featured an image of a stout woman wearing a bikini on a beach with the text: Save The Whales, Lose the blubber. Go Vegetarian.

Some people said the ad was offensive and compared an overweight woman to a whale.

"I think it's rather rude. Yeah we all need to be a little bit healthier and exercise a little bit more, but that sign is very rude," one woman told CBS affiliate WCTV-TV in Tallahassee.

PETA spokeswoman Lindsay Rajt told WCTV, "Our goal was really to encourage people to live healthier lives and, of course, as an animal rights group, to save animals at the same time."

* WFOR Video: PETA Billboard Ad Draws Criticism


Rajt said it was the bevy of positive responses that prompted them to change the billboard, as is claimed in an Aug. 24 blog post on PETA's Web site. The post reads: Ever since placing our original ad, which showed a woman whose "blubber" was spilling out of her swimsuit, we've been inundated with calls and e-mails of support from people who want to take our 30-day Pledge to Be Veg.

The new billboard echoes that statement.

It reads: GONE. Just like all the pounds lost by people who go vegetarian.

In its online petition for a 30-day vegetarian challenge, PETA encourages participants "to want to eat better, feel better, and stop supporting cruelty to chickens, pigs, cows, fish, and other animals raised for food. By signing my name, I pledge to explore vegetarianism for at least 30 days."

Thursday August 27, 2009, 2:56 pm
They just got more press for less and thats what thry wanted. They are the queens of offensive exploitive marketing. How much do you want to bet they had the new cover billboard made the same time they made the offensive one.

Thursday August 27, 2009, 3:27 pm
This advert is one of the reasons that I don't support Peta financially.

Many overweight people have an underlying health problem, either a physical or an emotional one, and it is sick and unpleasant to mock them.

Thursday August 27, 2009, 4:27 pm
noted thank you

Thursday August 27, 2009, 7:35 pm
"The new billboard echoes that statement.

It reads: GONE. Just like all the pounds lost by people who go vegetarian."

Still pathetic..but then that is what they are..so it is fitting and expected of them..

I agree Bill..They are really pathetic..always were..always will be..

Gillian I also agree..and that is just where donations go..to nonsense like these ridiculously and outrageous billboards..which in my opinion does no good whatsoever for animals..If anything.. it hurts them..

Thanks Raffi..
Noted

Thursday August 27, 2009, 10:55 pm
Thanks Raffi . Below is a copy of an email I received yesterday. Not the same poster as PETAs, but feel it is relevant. .......

" Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin, tanned woman appeared in the window of a gym.

It said: "THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?"

A middle-aged woman, whose physical attributes did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern:

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.) They have an active sex life; they get pregnant, and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins, stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Gulf of Cortez, Alaska, and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected, and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts to try to work out their identity crises: fish or human? They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex? Therefore they don't have kids either. Besides, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a whale.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a coffee with my friends. With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room in our brains, it spills out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated, and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, "God, look how smart I am!"

Thursday August 27, 2009, 11:07 pm
Thanks for your comment, Gemma. What a great response from that woman!

Friday August 28, 2009, 1:22 pm
I agree with everyone else's sentiment. I don't support PETA because they care more about media attention and shocking the public than helping animals. Besides, in regards to this particular ad this is nonsense. I'm vegan and not particularly skinny. I'm not obese either, but weight has to do with a complex of issues.

Friday August 28, 2009, 1:26 pm
Tx Raffi

Friday August 28, 2009, 3:23 pm
I am a vegetarian --- but that ad was worse than offensive. As someone said, obesity is a complex issue that involves so much more than eating, or for that matter, eating meat or animal products. I am willing to bet eating vegan cookies on a regular basis isn't exactly conducive to a slim waistline! I love those darn cookies --- :)

Friday August 28, 2009, 5:54 pm
Glad it's gone. Thanks Raffi.

Friday August 28, 2009, 5:57 pm
I am mostly a VEGGIE...I was with PETA, back in the Old Days when they started and they WERE Ethical...
I KNOW I am smart, but at the same time...I don't want to be a butthead...(it's a joke...think about it)

Friday August 28, 2009, 9:24 pm
PETA I think they should change their name to Pathetic Egotists Taunt Again I think it suits them better

Friday August 28, 2009, 10:41 pm
there are many fat vegans