• ADI World
  • USA
  • United Kingdom
  • Europe
  • Surámerica
  • Brasil
  • Perú
  • Africa
• About us
• Take action
• Campaigns
• Publications
• Media centre
• Store

Issues

• Animals in entertainment

• Advertising, TV, Films and video
• Bloodsports
• Bullfights and fiestas
• Circuses
• Sport (Other)
• Zoos and dolphinaria

• Animal experiments
• Animal rescues
• Farm animals
• Fur
• Conservation
• My Mate’s a Primate
• Research
  without animals

• Work with ADI

Animal Defenders International

Animals in Advertising

Posted: 18 April 2007. Updated: 19 November 2009

Toyota took their elephant ad off the air; Seiko pledged a policy review; the GMB Union will no longer use animals; and Careerbuilder have dropped the apes. With CGI, animations, and old fashioned human actors, there’s no need for performing animals. Here’s a round-up of recent companies contacted, named and shamed.

Careerbuilder Ends Ape Adverts
After more than a year of ADI pressure, Careerbuilder has dropped Great Apes from their current advertising campaign. The company has been called and sent letters and videos. We have higlighted the confinement, deprivation, social isolation, and physical abuse of apes in the entertainment industry, and also how they are dumped or killed when their TV days are over. Finally it’s paid off.

UK Government
Two vultures were used for a TV ad for the Department for Education and Skills website . Previously an ad for the working family tax credit featured performing seals and penguins. The vultures had a five hour journey in transport cages.

Guinness
Emperor penguins made a treacherous journey to the pub for the ‘Best Mates’ adverts. Computer generated images (CGI) of the penguins and library footage of orca whales were used, with real penguins filmed at the Mar del Plata Aquarium in Argentina.

Abbey
Eight rabbits plugged ‘Switching Account’ on TV, following six performing squirrels in another ad. The rabbits were trained for weeks to jump across water onto blocks – despite the animals’ natural aversion to water.

Bombay Sapphire Gin
An Asian elephant from Herman Renz Circus, Maya , was filmed over two days. Previously ADI filmed elephants at this circus housed in a tiny, electric fenced pen with a hard floor and no bedding.

Barclaycard
Barclaycard recently promoted rodeos with a ‘humorous’ ad featuring Green Wing actors Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt attending a real rodeo event in Brazil.

Animal rescues – the luck ones we’ve saved from suffering

Stop Circus Suffering campaign

My Mate’s a primate – a campaign to protect our closets relatives in the animal kingdom

Get the facts about primates in entertainment

Make a donation today!

Send this page to a friend