A startling – though slightly humorous – anti-meat advert has caused controversy across the UK for its confrontational depiction of people’s eating habits.
Vegan advocacy group, Viva! aired the controversial commercial on the UK’s Channel 4 last Monday, which shows a couple lounging with their beloved dog, before opening a food delivery app named, ‘Just Meat’.
The couple are startled when their food arrives in the form of a live pig, with the deliveryman offering the horrified couple a meat cleaver and commenting, “Just Meat, delivered fresh to your door!”
The ad concludes by informing the viewer “Animals are not just meat” and encouraging them to try going vegan.
The advert – which was made following a successful crowdsourcing campaign which raised over £80 thousand ($A151 thousand) – caused a stir on socials, after meat eaters (and some vegetarians, too) found Viva!’s ad to be off-putting and inappropriate.
https://twitter.com/arsturdy/status/1495353007709605894
I'm all for people being vegan but I fucking hate that advertising. I just saw it and honestly it's disgusting
— Eloise (@Elliemoo94) February 18, 2022
However, as confronting as it is, the ad does present some glaring double-standards regarding people’s attitude’s towards their beloved pets, and their indifference towards the often-brutal meat industry.
“Most people in the UK despise cruelty to animals, yet simply don’t make the connection between animal cruelty and what is on their plate,” said Viva! founder and director, Juliet Gellatley, in a statement.
“If we can encourage people to think about what they consume, at a time when delicious vegan alternatives are widely available, we can play a part – on a national scale – in helping to change mindsets and save animals.
She added, “With delicious vegan alternatives widely available, there has never been an easier, tastier or more important time to go vegan.”
If you’re on the hunt (no pun intended) for other media that will motivate you to go vegan, we recommend Babe, Chicken Run, Babe 2: Pig in the City and any video of Iain “Huey” Hewitson preparing a meat-based dish.
