Not Ready for Prime Time
DRTV spot produced by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) promoting vegetarianism was rejected by all of the Big Four television networks as being “controversial.”
The 30-second spot features actor Joaquin Phoenix shopping for vegetables while a cheerful ditty plays on the soundtrack. When he passes the meat department, the music changes to a dirge. A shot of uncooked fowl is accompanied by the line, “Holidays can be murder on turkeys. Let’s make this one for the birds.” The finale refers viewers to a toll-free number or a Web site for free vegetarian recipes.
PETA, of course, thrives on controversy, generating as much bad feeling as good ink. The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in Dallas, in contrast, has always taken an approach appropriate for a religious organization. It too found its half-hour infomercial rejected for being controversial. The message? Rather what you’d expect from a church: universal and unconditional love, tolerance and brotherhood.
MCC is taking a legalistic route, its lawyers claiming one Chicago station first accepted and then rejected the ad. PETA has managed to place its ad in a couple of local markets.
As for the networks, some claim that advocacy groups create ads knowing they’ll be turned down, and use the rejection to generate media attention.
The networks also claim that it’s not a matter of freedom of the press, since controversial issues are probably best covered in news programs where a balanced view can be presented, and not as paid commercials.
