The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has started a three-year direct response advertising effort to raise $1 million a year over three years to stop the hunting of baby seals in Canada. The first ad, a graphic, full-page color ad, appears in the New York Times this week.
“We wanted to inaugurate this campaign with an exclamation point and that is a full-page ad in the New York Times,” said John Grandy, senior vice president of the HSUS.
The ad shows a masked hunter clubbing a seal beneath the tagline that appears to be written in blood: “O Canada, How Could You?” This first ad was paid for with a grant from an anonymous foundation, Grandy said.
“If you ask them, most people in the U.S. will tell you they think this issue was solved 20 years ago,” Grandy said. And, although other nations stopped the hunting of seals and importation of seal fur, Canada has gradually been increasing the quota of seals allowed to be hunted. This year, the nation expanded the quota to allow up to 975,000 baby seals to be hunted over the next three years, he said.
Canadian officials could not be reached by press time.
“We believe if we can generate that kind of pressure, it can be successful in ending the brutal seal hunt,” Grandy said.
The overall campaign, which may run ads in various newspapers and magazines as well as on radio and TV, will all include a direct response feature.
The Times ad includes a toll-free number and the address of a special microsite set up to provide information about the seal hunt, www.protectseals.org. The goal is to drive people to the microsite where they can sign up for a monthly e-mail newsletter and learn more about the issue. This gives HSUS a chance to collect opt-in e-mail addresses of potential contributors.
In addition to encouraging people to visit the site, the ad calls for readers to contact Canada’s prime minister, Jean Chretien and the Canadian Tourist department and threaten to boycott Canadian products and cancel trips to Canada. “Canada, we don’t buy it! Stop Killing Baby Seals!” said the tagline.
The ad signals the start of a Protect Seals campaign that will also include a monthly e-mail newsletter about the issue.
“This is a single-issue campaign with a very clear goal
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