Top 10 Worst PETA Ads

Sure, sex sells, for ideas as well as products. But for critics, THIS ad was more about objectification. In 2010, PETA featured actress and model Pamela Anderson in an ad protesting the meat consumption. Some took issue however with the ad’s visual content, which depicted a bikini-class Anderson in a way that compared her body to meat. The backlash to the ad was such that, while trying to campaign on PETA’s behalf, Anderson was denied a permit for the event by the Canadian government. Ouch.

We doubt members of the medical profession are especially fond of this campaign. To promote a vegan diet, PETA created an ad in 2010 that linked the consumption of animal products with heart disease, cancer, and strokes. High meat consumption IS linked with serious health problems . . . but PETA’s approach was to photograph a woman wearing a sexy nurse costume, using her as a prop to draw attention. The contrast between the sexy nurse and the ad’s text, which lists undesirable health conditions, highlights the strange contradiction in using sex appeal for this particular ad.

Who is this even for? That’s the question that first comes to mind when looking at this PETA poster, showing a distraught Santa Claus glancing at his... uh, Christmas tree. While its message - an alleged connection between dairy and erectile dysfunction - suggests it’s intended for adults, the use of Santa makes it feel more aimed at children. Adding to the confusion, PETA introduced the ad in 2007 by urging readers not to leave milk out for Santa. That the ad met with a negative reaction isn’t exactly surprising.

Shock value alone can only carry you so far. But PETA really went for it with their “Hooked on Meat” ad. The ad shows a woman half chained up alongside split pig carcasses. Her stomach has been sliced open and her lower half lopped off, and she’s looking up at the viewer with a pleading look. This doesn’t make a lot of sense right out of the gate; because how is she still alive?! The real problem however is - again - the way the ad uses female bodies, equating the woman with the pigs in the slaughterhouse.

Obesity is a serious health issue, and there are ways to tactfully and compassionately address it. That’s . . . not what PETA did. Their Save the Whales billboard ad depicted an overweight woman in a bikini, with the caption: “Lose the blubber: go vegetarian”. As many were quick to note, the ad not only targets and belittles people for their appearance, it also operates under the assumption that vegetarian diets can serve as a cure-all. In light of the controversy that resulted, PETA ended up taking the offensive billboard now, replacing it with one that read “GONE: Just like all the pounds lost by people who go vegetarian”.

There’s bad taste . . . and then there’s using a brutal murder to push your cause. In July 2008, Canadian 22-year old Tim McLean was stabbed, beheaded, and partially eaten on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba by another passenger, Vince Li. Within days, PETA posted an ad to its website graphically describing the murder and comparing it to the consumption of animals. A Manitoba newspaper, The Portage Daily Graphic, rejected the ad, but PETA doubled down in subsequent statements, continuing to push the analogy. While there’s certainly a case to be made about animals deserving better treatment . . . this was not the way to go about it.

In 2019, PETA gave us THIS tacky take on masculinity . . . But it was nothing compared to 2012’s “Boyfriend Went Vegan” campaign. The commercial depicts a woman limping back to her apartment, apparently suffering from serious injuries or a chronic, debilitating condition. But don’t fret, says the narrator, because the woman’s neck brace and bruising are really the result of intense sexual activity. Her boyfriend went vegan and knocked the bottom out of her! Critics accused the campaign of making light of sexual abuse and domestic violence. With all the controversy, and the dubious message involved, it’s pretty doubtful this had anyone rushing out to buy vegetables.

While much is still unknown about the precise causes of autism, studies that blame dairy have been discredited on multiple occasions. Nevertheless, PETA saw fit to keep the theory alive in both 2008 through their ‘Got Autism?’ campaign. Their ad showed a frowning face made from cereal in a bowl full of milk, and a post on their website suggested that milk worsens or even causes autism. People were outraged, arguing that the campaign perpetuated negative stereotypes about people with autism, and relied on dubious studies. Bad science does NOT a good campaign make.

Great ads make you think. But that’s tough to do when you’re ripping into your audience at the same time. In 2015, PETA produced a video advert that depicted various themed serial killers lecturing their prospective victims. The analogy isn’t hard to get . . . meat-eaters are the serial killers, and animals the victims. The serial killers’ arguments are meant to parody those made in support of meat consumption, but are often preeeetty wide of the mark. It’s not clear how PETA thought this would go over - since insulting and being condescending towards your target audience isn’t exactly a formula for winning new converts.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonourable mentions:

The Ron Jeremy One

Unfurgivable

Be an Angel for Animals

Payback Is Hell

Fur Trim: Unattractive

Because OF COURSE course the organization known for carelessly borrowing charged imagery would find a way to integrate the Holocaust into their campaign . . . Launched in 2004, the travelling display “Holocaust on Your Plate” juxtaposed photos of animals in slaughterhouses and people imprisoned in concentration camps. The backlash was fierce, with critics decrying the campaign’s tactless nature, and accusing PETA of dehumanizing Holocaust victims by comparing them to animals. Eventually, PETA offered an apology, that was more about explaining their rationale than . . . well apologizing. It wasn’t the last time they evoked Nazi imagery, using it again in 2014 to protest the Westminster Dog Show.