PETA and Their Underlying Motives

In the selected advertisement, the main focus is of an almost naked woman in a cage who is wearing just a pair of pink of underwear. PETA, in this advertisement, is trying to imply that humans are no better than animals and, in this case, pigs. By having the woman trapped in a cage, much like a pig in a show, PETA is attempting to persuade readers that animals should have the exact same rights as humans. In the advertisement there are many people in the background looking at the woman, much like a pig in a competition. The other idea that PETA is attempting to get through to the public is that eating animals is wrong. This is what the entire foundation of PETA is based upon. They made the girl in the picture look very unpleasant; she is wearing an unattractive pair of underwear, she has a large stomach that is hanging out as she is kneeling down, her hair is un-kept and looks like it has not been washed in a great deal of time. All of these characteristics are supposed to be unappealing to the average person and is an attempt by PETA to convince people that eating meat is also unappealing. Overall, this advertisement is based on the fact that PETA wants people to eat a healthy, vegetarian diet and it is obvious that they made this advertisement on this basis because of the big banner at the bottom of the ad saying 'Go Vegetarian.'

PETA decided to attack peoples' emotional side in this advertisement. They used the shock factor, like they do in many of their other advertisements, to attempt to persuade people toward a more animal-friendly environment. By showing a human trapped inside of a cage on their hands and knees, much like an animal, PETA effectively tries to 'scare' people into not eating meat. Also, by putting a girl with more fat than society accepts as healthy, PETA is telling people they will look like this unless they stop eating meat. This is a successful advertisement through an emotional appeal, in that the organization is prodding into a 'hot-button' topic by bringing up the risks of not eating a healthy, PETA suggests a vegetarian diet is the answer. In a health-conscious world where people still eat relatively unhealthy, PETA is scaring, almost threatening, the viewers of this advertisement into eating a more health based diet in order to not have their own body look like this.

In addition to an emotional appeal, PETA is also using a logical appeal. As opinionated as this organization is, there is plenty of truth to this advertisement. PETA not only advocates that people eat healthy, but that they must eat a vegetarian diet in order to eat healthy. A vegetarian diet, if done right, can lead to living a very healthy life. It instantly cuts down on the fat intake of a given person, reduces risk for a heart attack, and mainly it boosts the overall confidence of one's body. By not eating meat, it becomes vastly easier to live in a fit environment. In this advertisement, PETA used the logical appeal by implying in a rational sense that becoming a vegetarian is good for overall health. They implied that if people do not eat meat, they will not become like the woman showcased in the advertisement.

PETA has two main target demographics and audiences for this advertisement. The more obvious one is people that are not vegetarians. They make this blatantly obvious with the emotional factor they played by placing a naked and overweight woman in a cage for their advertisement. Animal rights are the entire reason that PETA was founded and, therefore, they must take a stand against eating animals. The second, and less obvious, audience for this advertisement is general adults. In the advertisement, there are two children in the background staring at the naked woman. Both of their parents are pulling at them to keep walking and ignore the woman. This implies that adults are just trying to ignore the advertisement while the uneducated children are fascinated with it. While children are considered innocent and unbiased, adults tend to choose what they want to focus their attention and ignore numerous important factors in today's world. In context of this advertisement, PETA gets ignored by many adults, which is why PETA is trying to appeal to adults by having a naked and, more importantly, fat woman showing the bodily effects of eating meat. By having both children stare at the woman it gives the idea that most adults will not even consider going vegetarian because the parents of the children are tugging at them to ignore the woman.

I found it interesting that everybody in this advertisement, except for the naked woman, are wearing heavy jackets and pants. PETA could be implying numerous things by this. They might be implying that many people wear clothes made out of animals, and the naked women could be symbolizing PETA's beliefs about wearing the fur of other animals. The fact that everybody is wearing heavy layers of clothing could also be adding toward the shock factor that PETA is attempting to implement with the emotional technique. Because everyone is wearing jackets, it is probably cold outside and if a woman was outside naked it would probably catch the eyes of the passers-by.

This statement made by PETA was not just a "Go Vegetarian" advertisement or simply a way to 'shock' the passers-by into noticing the organization. It was also a protest towards all things related to the protection of animals. The sign that went up next to the girl did not just mean stop eating meat; it meant that people should be compelled to actually live a vegetarian lifestyle in every way. They are protesting all things dealing with the mistreatment of animals. The cage signified the poor treatment of animals, and maybe the immoral testing done to them. The fact that the woman in the advertisement was naked referred to the wrongful killing of animals for fur coats, especially because it was a very cold day outside when the protest was done. And lastly, PETA was protesting the eating of animals, which was obvious at the size of the woman's stomach. PETA has protested the destruction of animals' rights in many ways. This was only one of the many protests and in this protest they subtly made a valid argument on multiple levels.

The color scheme in this advertisement was very appropriate and logical in order for the target demographic to realize what this article is about. The entire picture is mostly dark except for the naked woman, which makes it much easier for one's eyes to easily be drawn to, although just the fact that there is a public display of nudity was probably more than enough. With that being true, this makes for a very successful advertisement. The two things that PETA would want people to look at in this is the sign that says 'Go Vegetarian,' which is contrasting the overall color of the rest of the advertisement with its white background to the print, and the naked woman who also contrasts with her backdrop. When I first looked at the advertisement, I initially only noticed these two things, which shows that it was very effective. I believe that PETA definitely intended to attract its viewers to these two things. The color scheming of the article made this very obvious.

This advertisement took a giant risk in putting a naked woman in the advertisement who would not be considered the peak of attractiveness. When there is no sex appeal in an advertisement that also uses nudity, it is more likely to be negatively scrutinized by the media. Because public nudity is a crime, it is the media's duty to critique anything that is considered to be a 'hot-button' topic for a society. I believe this is what PETA was attempting to do though. When this organization puts out an advertisement, it almost always sparks some kind of controversy, and this one has done a successful job in doing the same. Most of PETA's advertisements are very controversial and don't quite conform to what other ads are, and this adds to the outcome of PETA's shock tactic in their advertisements. Although it does seem a little unnecessary to have a nearly naked woman in this advertisement, I believe that it was still a very effective advertisement.

The only aspect of this advertisement that failed was that it is very unclear as to what they are trying to convey without deeply analyzing it. At first, I looked at the article and thought it was just another ridiculous PETA ad, but then as I spent a lot of time analyzing it I realized that there was much more going on than at first glance. If the average person found this advertisement in a magazine, they would notice the two main objects in the advertisement, the woman and the sign, but it is very difficult to understand what PETA is trying to get across without delving deeper into the subtleties of the advertisement. Because the woman and the sign are the first things the eyes are drawn to, it is vital to know what they are symbolizing. To the average person, the sign and the woman would be very easy to interpret; the sign says 'Go Vegetarian' and the only thing that would make sense to somebody without analyzing the article is that PETA is telling its audience to not eat meat. The woman is depicting an animal herself and is making the statement that humans are just as much of an animal as dogs, pigs, and cows. After looking at the surface of this advertisement, there is a valid argument, but after delving deeper into the advertisement there are many different arguments by PETA in this advertisement. This argument conveys that animals are considered humans, and therefore animals should be treated as complete equals.