'Violent' Vegan Friendly ad found unfriendly to humans

Vegan Friendly UK, an organisation which promotes animal welfare, has been clubbed by the ad watchdog following a flood of complaints over a graphic and violent TV campaign, designed to expose the hypocrisy of meat-eaters.

The ad, shown in March, featured two women and a man stuffing their faces around a table juxtaposed with various clips of animals being fished, farmed and chopped up for consumption.

These included a clip of a fish gasping for air, and pork meat being chopped with a cleaver, followed by blood splashing onto a takeaway box. There was also a shot of a cow’s face which appeared to have tears coming from its red eye, alongside a moo-ing sound.

This was followed by the eye of a pig, accompanied by squealing, and the eye of a chicken, accompanied by squawking. The face of a live cow was then shown, which was then quickly followed by a cow’s skinned head, with its eyes and teeth still present, lying on its side.

The clips were interspersed by close-ups of the adults’ mouths as the first woman said: “Poor fish don’t stand a chance.” The man then chipped in: “There’s countries that still have bullfighting”, to which the first woman replied, “And wet markets”. The man replied: “They just don’t care about animals like we do babe.”

On-screen stated: “No animal was harmed, consumed, or purchased to make this advert,” followed by the text: “Make the connection.”

But dozens of viewers were disgusted by the ad, with 63 complaining to the Advertising Standards Authority.

Some complainants challenged whether the ad contained graphic imagery and gratuitous violence towards animals, which caused unnecessary distress to viewers; others challenged whether the ad was scheduled appropriately, because it was broadcast when children could be watching; and a number challenged whether the ad was offensive because it vilified meat eaters.

In response to the ASA’s inquiries, Vegan Friendly UK claimed the imagery was no different to displays seen in butchers’ or fishmongers’ windows on the average high street, and that the clips “would not feel out of place in a cooking programme or a nature documentary”.

The organisation said the ad was intended to highlight “an individual’s potential hypocrisy, and the contradictions between what people said and their actions”, to encourage meat-eaters who were against animal cruelty to reconsider eating meat.

It said the ad did not vilify meat-eaters but “promoted love and compassion for all beings and discouraged discrimination against other sentient beings”.

However, the ASA was having little of it, despite agreeing that the ad did not vilify meat-eaters.

It ruled that several clips “were likely to cause distress to both younger and adult audiences”, while the way the ad was shot, in a “quick succession of clips” combined with “the juxtaposition between the adults eating and the animal imagery, would heighten the distress felt by viewers”.

The ASA noted that visiting a butcher or watching cookery shows was “an active choice which came with different expectations to those of TV ads”.

Its ruling stated: “We concluded that the ad was likely to cause distress to both younger and adult audiences and therefore was not suitable for broadcast on TV regardless of scheduling restrictions.”

The ASA also warned Vegan Friendly UK to avoid using imagery which was likely to cause distress to both younger and adult audiences.

The ad is still available on YouTube, however>