CHENNAI: Would you rather go naked than wear fur? This is a question PETA has thrown out to the public for almost two decades now. Among those who answered in the affirmative are Khloe Kardashian, Pamela Anderson, Steve-O and Eva Mendes. These celebrated names from showbiz could well be cited solely responsible for the iconic status that the ‘Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur’ campaign has enjoyed in the last 20 years. ”Millions of animals are trapped, drowned, beaten, and electrocuted for their fur,” says PETA. And rushing to the rescue of these powerless animals were celebrities, who bared it all to get people thinking..and talking!
PETA President Ingrid Newkirk strongly defended her campaigns, saying that if sexual attraction contributes to the cause of animals, she remains unapologetic. “Love stars who love animals because they get the conversation going when they do an ad for us: people take one look, keep on looking so that the idea that animals are more than the skin they are in, gets into their consciousness,” says Ingrid, who was in Mumbai recently to donate a diesel-powered auto rickshaw after the ban on the use of bullocks to transport kerosene.
Over the years, these aggressive advertising stunts and media campaigns by PETA have most often run on two extremes — either gaining immense fame or being heavily criticised by feminist animal rights advocates for their “notoriety”. So where does an ad campaign draw the line between creativity and communicative precision? 20 years and they are still drawing it!