July 07 2006
SPCA’s Bad Taste Street Campaign
posted by Steven Shaw at 2:35 pm
Springing up around South Auckland, this controversy-courting SPCA ad from Lowe advertising in Auckland.
Spare Room Be our guest…
Edited by Ana Samways & Steven Shaw
Edited by Ana Samways & Steven Shaw
July 07 2006
Springing up around South Auckland, this controversy-courting SPCA ad from Lowe advertising in Auckland.
July 7th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
For figgs sake! Talk about not gauging the mood of the people.. Kahui ring any bells ad wankers.
July 7th, 2006 at 4:22 pm
ooh…a bit close to the bone
July 7th, 2006 at 9:47 pm
Oh joy. I can’t wait for the ad about microchipping.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
This is pervy and dumb. Couldnt they think of anything smarter?
July 8th, 2006 at 10:09 am
You sure it’s Lowe? Heard it was FCB. Then again, the agencies all seem to have merged with one another…
July 8th, 2006 at 11:14 am
I’ve just rung the SPCA and told them not to count on any further donations from this quarter. If they’ve got money to squander on this crap – a typical ad campaign that must have been fantastic when it was pitched between the third and fourth expense account cocktail – they obviously don’t need my help…
July 8th, 2006 at 11:45 am
Bad taste, but the “kitty-fiddling” made me laugh out loud. (sheepish)
July 8th, 2006 at 7:25 pm
Really, really bad taste!
July 9th, 2006 at 7:25 pm
This should be removed immediately. This is not funny it is offensive beyond belief.
July 10th, 2006 at 6:37 am
This is sooooooooo sick.
The advertising company and the SPCA Auckland need their heads read to do an advert like this.
This sort of badly worded poster undermines the good work of the SPCA
July 10th, 2006 at 9:12 am
If it gets the message across, that is all that matters.
July 10th, 2006 at 11:12 am
Gill;
Sorry, I don’t buy that. The SPCA claims to, “speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Well, it seems to me if you’re got to resort to shock tactics to get your message across, you’ve got to accept that some people are going to ask how seriously it should be taken. Hey, considering the demographic make-up of South Auckland why not play fast and loose with racial or class stereotypes? That should get plenty of attention…
July 10th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
I don’t find this at all outrageous or offensive. In fact, the idea of dirty old Mr Whiskers makes me chuckle.
Has anyone in South Auckland actually complained about this?
July 10th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
Robyn:
Well, I know one incest survivor who lives in South Auckland who desn’t see the point in complaining to the SPCA – her rationale is that an organisation that went ahead with this campaign in the first place aren’t going to listen to her. Instead, she’s going to be redirecting her contribution to the SPCA to other animal welfare organisations. I don’t know if Bob Kerridge has noticed, but charities really need to consider the integrity of their brand just as carefully as any corporate. And while it’s a mantra that any publicity is good publicity, as long as they spell your name right – that’s not always true.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
I would imagine that campaigns like this take ages to get off the ground.
This sort of publicity will raise the SPCA’s profile and be worth their weight in gold.
Anything that gets the sterilisation message across, and prevents the birth of thousands of unwanted kittens and puppies is an excellent campaign by my books.
Anyway it is clever and funny!
July 10th, 2006 at 6:28 pm
Tess;
I’ll ask you again, if any publicity is good publicity where do you draw the line?
I’ve got an idea for the next SPCA South Auckland campaign –
Big pictures of sexy, young high profile PI and Maori women with dog collars around their necks, surrounded by young children under the headline – DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE. DE-SEX YOUR BITCH.
But I’m an equal opportunities offender – how about some tasteful nudes of high profile PI and Maori men with their genitals photoshopped out?
I think that’s clever, funny, and gets across a worthy message. Would you agree?
July 10th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
Craig.
I can see that this has you hot under the er- collar Craig.
I live in South Auckland and would be disappointed if my demographic – white, middle aged, middle class woman was not included in your proposed campaign.
Furthermore a nifty google turns up the following. Your idea has been done!
http://www.bestadsontv.com/print_details.php?id=2752
July 10th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
the photoshopped genitals that is
July 10th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
I still say… anything that makes people think …. is good… I’m totally sick and fed up with having to be ‘polically correct’…how many spayed and neutered animals have the SPCA achieved with this…. pity they can’t do the same with humans!@
July 10th, 2006 at 9:33 pm
Craig… we are not talking about racial issues here… we are talking cold hard facts…. animals… most people get them, cute cuddily but they take no responsibility for them…. I think you are out of the plot here…
July 10th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
I dont imagine there would have been a lot of people who saw this billboard and thought “ah yes, of course, I must spey my animal.”
July 11th, 2006 at 8:22 am
Gill & Tess:
So, I think you’ve both answered my question – playing around with racially charged and sexist imagery IS totally unacceptable. Equating a randy tom with (quite literally) a baby raper is witty and good fun.(I’ll just say the you mightn’t see the joke when you know someone who has suffered lifelong psychological and physical damage from that kind of sexual abuse.)
Well, I’ll quite happily acknowedge humour and ‘good taste’ are hardly notions etched in stone – as anyone who has ever told a joke at a party well knows. Perhaps Bob Kerridge is right, and charities have to become more and more extreme just to cut through the media noise. But I think it’s quite legitimate to ask when do you draw the line. The SPCA has crossed a line, IMO, and I choose not to support it any further. If you feel differently, I’m sure you’ll pick up the slack.
July 11th, 2006 at 9:11 am
I find the ads somewhat distasteful, but I paused for thought when the news said that 12000 kittens are dumped on the SPCA each year, and 6000 are euthenised.
That’s distasteful too.
July 11th, 2006 at 3:46 pm
I agree with Birdy – questionable taste & humour aside, I wouldn’t be surprised if the ad was utterly ineffective.
There’s one at St Lukes with straight mugshots of a dog and cat & the slogan “is your pet a sex offender?”. Personally I think it’s less offensive because it doesn’t go to such great lengths to dupe the reader into a turmoil of strong reactions; and more effective because the message is so clear.
July 11th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
I am disappointed that a society with so much compassion for
animals, has so little consideration for the people in the community who support it. I will not be making any future donations to this animal charity.
July 12th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
How many of the RSPCA and SPCA advertising has been offensive to men in particular?
It is a male cat portrayed as a sexual offender.
Although if I was a young girl, just learning to read, and read that in a poster I don’t think I would be too impressed with my neighborhood, or would feel very safe!
July 12th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
To use the sexual violation of baby girls as a publicity stunt for de-sexing pets, and the offensive play on the words ‘kitty-fiddling’, is gratuitous and offensive. It trivialises rape, it insults victims, and it demeans the SPCA.
July 13th, 2006 at 3:47 am
This ad is 20 times more tasteful then any movie poster that has an image of Jessica Alba or Jennifer Lopez on it. How can you complain about an ad that for once uses wit and intelligence to get its message across instead of a half naked woman? This ad should be in no way offensive to anyone that actually reads it. It’s not like the SPCA is trying to trick you, their logo is clearly identified. It was the first thing I noticed when looking at the poster which told me it was about animals. Not people. Maybe you’d all be happier if their next campaign starred a half naked Britney Spears? Because god forbid they actually make you think about the ramifications of not getting your cat neutered!
This ad is appropriate for the message they’re trying to get across. It’s smart and it’s funny. Unless you’re a cat named Whiskers you shouldn’t be offended by this ad. It clearly states its message and intentions. This ad isn’t even that shocking. It’s not like sexual predators aren’t a topic on the evening news at least once a week. No one should be offended by this unless you all stopped reading it half way through, then its your own fault for being too lazy and retarded to read what is probably one of the best ad campaigns I have seen on this topic.
Now it is possible that the entire subject of getting your pet neutered offends you or you’re afraid to explain the meaning of this ad to your children. In which case you probably don’t watch The Price is Right either…
July 14th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Heather, Birdy and others- according to the SPCA, this de-sexing campaign was in fact the most sucessful ever run ; in part thanks to the campaign used to promote it…while it could be considered offensive by some, it got a laugh out of me. Shocking, I know.
July 14th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
As I said… if it got the message across…. sometimes shock tactics are needed…. wonderful campaign SPCA
July 15th, 2006 at 3:03 am
Brilliant piece of copywriting.
July 15th, 2006 at 4:14 am
the ad implies, at first, that there is someone who is raping babies.
that is disgusting.
as well as off-putting.
it was a bad decision to associate that implication with a charity i otherwise support
July 15th, 2006 at 5:08 am
Great poster!
Anything to pop the po-faced knee-jerk tabloid “won’t somebody think of the children” reaction.
Learn to read and think.
July 15th, 2006 at 5:30 am
This is terrible- trivialising rape and sexual abuse which is not comparable with not neutering a cat in any way.
Extremely offensive.Raping a human being is a lot more serious than abandoning a cat.Do I really have to say that? Seems some comments indicate I do.
@Joey, no I wouldn’t prefer it if they used Britney Spears- are those the only 2 options then?!
July 15th, 2006 at 6:04 am
Its a good advert which raises a laughm in all honesty i fail to see the problem.
Really get a sense of humor.
July 15th, 2006 at 7:00 am
that is just the funniest thing I’ve seen in weeks… I love it !
July 15th, 2006 at 7:06 am
I think this is a great ad! Clever, to the point, and viral – we’re talking about it, aren’t we?
The Kiwis aren’t going to be bothered, mainly because they’re not twats. Unlike us Brits more spend all our parliamentary time worrying about fox-hunting while people were planning to explode themselves on our underground.
It’s this kind of refreshing stuff that means I can’t wait ’til my 2 year work permit comes through.
July 15th, 2006 at 7:40 am
I think countries that don’t take care of stray animals, and ensure they are kept alive and well keep until someone is willing to adopt them, shouldn’t have the right to ask people not to feed them.
July 15th, 2006 at 7:44 am
I see the hypersensitive idiots find their way into every crevasse. If you really think that someone who sees this ad will become desensitized to the rape of children or anything of the sort, do the world a favor and have yourself fixed. One of you is painfully, obviously enough.
July 15th, 2006 at 8:18 am
Well I thought it was amusing and apposite. Very good.
July 15th, 2006 at 10:17 am
All the humourless prudes complaining about the ad. get a life. I actually was abused as a child and I find jokes on the subject even funnier. Noone ever said comedy had to be nice.
July 15th, 2006 at 1:26 pm
I laughed at this poster. I laughed even more at the melodrama.
July 15th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
FYI The influx of comments lately has come from the UK (via the b3ta.com newsletter). Cheers for the traffic dudes. I figured it was worth letting local readers know that. Seeing the ad out of context would make it easier to laugh at and b3ta.com’s content is clever and proudly crass. I guess they like their humour a bit blacker over there. Anyway, I’m going to close comments on this one off soon, so if you want to have a last word, do it soon.
July 15th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
It is kinda funny though.
July 15th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
I wish the RSPCA used this tactic here in Australia. When you consider what cats do to native wildlife (as in NZ), the actions of the feline sexual offenders has many unforseen consequences. GO KIWI SPCA!
July 15th, 2006 at 9:47 pm
that is just fantastic – stop whining