PETA Mocking Teen Sex?
Lisa Lange on MSNBC
PETA has been known for using shocking tactics to bring about awareness to issues they believe are important to their animal activism, and their latest ad is no exception. It features a couple encouraging their teenage daughter to have sex. The ad ends with the statement "Parents shouldn't act this way. Neither should people with dogs and cats. Always spay or neuter."
Lisa Lange, PETA's senior vice president, made an apperance on the MSNBC news network to comment on the ad. When asked if she felt it was smart to make an analogy between teen sex and animal overpopulation, she replied "Well we (PETA) think it is just because we try to think of a funny, clever way, and I think we did in this case, to call attention to what for dogs and cats in this country is a crisis."
However, not everyone saw this ad as funny and clever, and many thought it just went too far. With language and phrasing such as "Get out there and nail everything you can" or "If it's got a pulse, you should be wrapped around it," many people were offended, and felt the ad was mocking teenage pregnancy. Some even went as far as to say that the ad could be misinterpreted by teenagers and encourage teen sex. Lisa assured news viewers that was not PETAs intention.
When asked if she felt that PETA's message was lost in the controversy of their often shocking tactics, she stated that she "really didn't think so." Lisa was also questioned on why PETA did not use less offensive or shocking tactics. "If we could we would," she said. "But this is the kind of thing that lands me on a show like yours to talk about it."
The ad was aired in regions of the United States with higher teenage pregnancy rates such as California, Illinois and shortly it will be aired in New York. The ad will eventually be shown in a total of ten states.
