Tuesday, January 2, 2007
PETA mad at Dallas company for chimpanzee TV ad
Updated 10:42 p.m., January 3, 2007
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When chimps fight back.
(UPDATE: The folks at Data Drive Thru want you to know that no chimp in their infomercial packs heat. But our regular readers used to our tongue-in-cheek photography already knew that. Now you do too.)
From a PETA news release today:
After hearing about Dallas-based Data Drive Thru’s plan to debut a commercial featuring a 6-year-old chimpanzee named Cody at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, PETA has fired off a letter to the computer company urging it to scrap the ad and implement a policy against using great apes in its promotions.
Cody is one of three chimpanzees who were surrendered to sanctuaries on December 9, 2006, in order to settle a civil lawsuit filed in federal court. The suit alleges that the chimpanzees’ owner, Sid Yost, punched them and kicked them in the head, which are violations of the Endangered Species Act and California cruelty-to-animals statutes.
Primatologist Sarah Baeckler, who conducted an undercover investigation of Yost’s training compound, says that she witnessed frequent beatings of Cody and other animals. Baeckler writes, "I saw volunteers and trainers hit Cody on the head with a lock, take a full windup and punch him in the back, kick him in the head, and hit him with a blunt instrument known as ‘the ugly stick.’"
Yost has been cited repeatedly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for failure to meet the minimum standards of the federal Animal Welfare Act, including failing to handle chimpanzees in a way that ensures public safety and animal welfare, failing to provide chimpanzees with adequate space and environmental enrichment, and exhibiting without a license. Yost has also been fined for bankruptcy fraud, has served jail time for illegal possession of animals, and has fled jurisdictions to avoid facing responsibility for damages caused by his animals. Two of his chimpanzees have bitten members of the public. In settling the lawsuit, Yost agreed to stop working with and owning nonhuman primates.
Chimpanzees used for entertainment—who in nature stay with their mothers for eight years to a lifetime—are usually only a few years old. By the time that they reach age 8, they are too powerful to control and are often discarded at roadside zoos or sold to cheap traveling shows.
"Young chimpanzees like Cody are often beaten and abused in other ways in order to force them to perform," says PETA Director Debbie Leahy. "Using a great ape in a Data Drive Thru ad sends the message that it is still somehow acceptable to use wild animals in ads, when, in fact, times have changed."
Major companies, including Yahoo! Inc., Honda, PUMA, and Keds, have agreed not to use great apes in their ads.
For more information, please visit NoMoreMonkeyBusiness.com.
Source: PETA
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Comments
Mike Orren Staff
I spent much of my day in non-editorial-related wheelings and dealings, so I missed phone calls from both Paul Andrus (founder, president, CEO) and Clint Hughes (VP marketing, business development) of Data Drive Thru. My particular apologies to Clint, who apparently was a victim of my repeated fumbling during a call-waiting imbroglio this afternoon. (Hey, we do the internet. Telephony confuses and frightens us.)
They wanted to tell their side of the story, and apparently didn't realize that this comment board is an open forum for them and anyone else to do so. Meantime, they did tell their story to Robert Wilonsky, and you can find that here:
http://www.dallasobserver.com/blogs/?...
They also were unhappy about the chimp photo above. Clearly they're new to our site and our whole "find a funny photo when we don't have good art" ethos. I can assure them that our regular users don't take any of our photos seriously.
That said, I personally find PETA's position here preposterous, and "Major companies, including Yahoo! Inc., Honda, PUMA, and Keds" posturing equally so.
(How can Honda possibly sell cars without monkeys?)
In fact, I hereby resolve that we'll find a way to work a monkey with an unlicensed semiautomatic weapon into a Pegasus ad campaign within the year.
And we'll pay him in bananas and cheap liquor...
2 years, 10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Gary Cohen Verified
So, the way I read it, everyone is mad at everyone else.
2 years, 10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
I suggest everyone get together and resolve their differences by staging a production of Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off.
2 years, 10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
This from Clint Hughes:
Mr. Orren,
In regards to Data Drive Thru using a chimp in our advertising, in your blog you stated "I personally find PETA's position here preposterous" As you commented, we are not familiar with your site or with your sense of humor. However, this is very serious situation and PETA is trying very hard to stir up animosity toward our company through their email campaign.
The real issue is animal abuse and we at Data Drive Thru are against animal abuse in any way. shape or form. Many in our company have been involved in causes to help abused animals, and abused children, for many years. That is what we were trying to convey to PETA in the correspondence in the link you directed your readers to in your blog.
We are your corporate neighbor and having a picture of a chimp with a gun, even though you might have a humorous disclaimer, might give the wrong impression and fuel this unreasonable fire.
If you feel you have to have a picture to accompany the story please find a differnt one. If you really do feel that PETA's position is preposterous then why give it any "air time." We hope that you will remove the article and the picture all together.
Clint Hughes
VP of Markeitng and Business Development
What Clint doesn't understand is that my feeling that a position is preposterous doesn't mean it doesn't get air on our site. This isn't my personal ideological sandbox, and I'm sure that some of our staffers and many of our readers quite agree with PETA.
Clint, no amount of lobbying on how this story is presented is going to change the way we do business. Instead of lobbying for that, I'd use the opportunity of communicating freely with your neighbors here to tell your story, which I'm sure is compelling.
And I know this is an uphill battle -- and this is not just for Clint -- we're not a blog.
2 years, 10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jen Anonymous
Hey guys,
We sure appreciate you posting our release, but what’s all the commotion about? You know we’re all about the chimpanzee and we’re compelled to speak on his behalf. You can bet that if he were able to say so himself, he’d be turning down the Data Drive Thru gig.
And even your pal, animal activist and vegetarian Lisa Simpson would object to this ad!
Jennifer O'Connor, Animals in Entertainment Campaign Writer, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
2 years, 10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
Jen, I really hesitate to ask this, because my spidey sense says to leave well enough alone...
BUT...
While I agree that Cody would have been better off swinging in the jungle and had he not fallen into the hands of this Sid Yost, that genie was out of the bottle before the ad was conceived. And, assuming he is being treated well now (which I'm not hearing any evidence to the contrary), how can you possibly know that "he’d be turning down the Data Drive Thru gig."?
I'm an animal lover myself. And many of the animals I love also love being the center of attention. I worry that those who purport to know what animals want do them a disservice different from those who abuse them, but a disservice nonetheless.
2 years, 10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
jivetalker Anonymous
Is PETA mad at Troy Aikman and ACME Brick for that brick commercial with the chimp?
2 years, 10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
annjim1 Anonymous
I saw a show with Jane Goodall, the primate specialist and I remember her telling how the apes where beaten and electricuted for circuses and for use in TV ads. Chimpanzees have most of our DNA, are close relatives and don't deserve abuse for entertainment.
2 years, 10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
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