An animal rights advocacy group has been criticised by the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) over a radio ad depicting a distressed baby cow calling on listeners to 'ditch dairy'.
A range of complaints were received by the ASB over the Animal Liberation Queensland radio spot, including that it was distressing to children, socially irresponsible, biased and inaccurate, and discriminated against farmers.
In the ad, a baby cow called Bobby tells a story of how he has been taken from his mother at a young age and will very soon end up in an abattoir. Rather than his mother's milk going to him, it will be given to people instead, the cow advises. The ad relates to how dairy cows have to give birth on a regular basis to keep producing milk, with male calves sent to the slaughterhouse aged just several days.
A voice at the end directs listeners to Ditchdairy.com.au.
Ultimately, the ASB considered and rejected the majority of the claims against the ad but found Animal Liberation Queensland did indeed breach section 2.3 of the Advertisers Code of Ethics which states that advertising cannot portray violence unless it is “justifiable in the context of the product or service advertised”, the ASB found.
While the ad is intended to provoke emotion in the listener and induce support of the organisation's goals and did not depict violence directly, the ASB noted the ad was aired at times when there would be a high proportion of children exposed to it and would be likely to create an unjustifiable “feeling of menace (and) of fear to children”.
In a sample of the complaints against the ad, a listener states: “The voice of Bobby is a child's voice, so it caught everyone's attention...By portraying a young cow being stolen from its mother it is frightening young children who I (hope) are not the target audience.
“I had two small children in the car who were so upset by this child stating farmers don't want baby cows they only want the mothers, and that they kill off all baby cows.”
The complaint added that the ad “contravenes dietary guidelines” by telling people to stop consuming dairy products and “defames” the dairy industry.
Animal Liberation Queensland provided extensive comments in response to the complaints, defending itself against the accusations.
“With regards to the emotional content of the ad, it tells the typical story of a male dairy calf. It is a sad tale but is not graphically told and is likely to form the basis of useful discussion between parents and children about animal welfare,” said the organisation.
“It could be argued that listeners of all ages may develop greater levels of awareness of empathy and compassion for animals as a result of listening to the ad, and an increased awareness of the possible effects of their consumer purchases,” it added.
The Ditch Dairy radio ad, the spot was only aired for a two week period starting in mid-October which meant that by the time the ASB had considered the complaints and come to a decision, it had ended. Animal Liberation Queensland “duly noted” the board’s determination.
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