Missing the point

Sometimes cosmic forces work in strange ways and hit you over the head and saturate your life events in strange and annoying ways. And then they get people like me to post off topic posts on their blog.

First, PETA had a campaign here in Washington DC where female models clad in chili pepper bikinis were serving veggie hot dogs to locals on Capital Hill.

Provocative? Yes. Attention Getting? Yes. To the point? Maybe not . . .





Then there was the news item of Pamela Anderson’s PETA ad being canceled in Canada, (the Mecca of Prudes) for being too sexy or sexist.

Provocative? Yes. Attention Getting? Yes. To the point? Maybe not. . .





At least when I look at these ads, and campaigns, I am not thinking stop cruelty to animals.

PETA is going for the shock value, but missing the point of getting people, or men, actively supporting or advocating ethical treatment to animals.

PETA and Pamela were saying sexy. Canadian officials were saying Sexist.

Kudos To Canada!

“It is not so much controversial as it goes against all principles public organizations are fighting for in the everlasting battle of equality between men and women.”

Ads and promotions like this annoy me. They are sexist and exploit women. And yes, they are nice to look at but often miss the point of the ad and the purpose of the organization in the first place.



It would have been much more effective if they used a butcher shop as a background to this ad or showed some of the horrible conditions animals are often kept in.







Sex is good. Sexism isn't. Shock is good too. As long as it all serves a purpose.


Or how about this. Here is another PETA salad ad and my butcher shop idea.











Which one would you rather eat?

Even SNL had an offbeat but strangely effective parody which could be used.




I don’t know about you, but I still love good bar-b-que I showed this to my woman lovely wife and we both got the same impression. That chicken still looks good.

Sorry PETA.

But getting back to the wonderful banning of the ad because of sexism.


Perhaps PETA should use male models and fig leaves in their ads on a more equal basis. But, of course, they will not. Why? Because the marketers at PETA know it is a Male world and Males dominate sports and business that use animals.

So, exploiting women to get a mans attention fits their modus operandi perfectly.

I just think it will just get men to want more pictures of Pamela, not to be more active advocates for change.

Then I got into thinking that what I, and PETA, really should look for is a picture or ad that would illicit the same reaction from people no matter who they are, man or woman.

The above male model probably does not do that.

So, did a quick search on the Internet. Now, I’m really trying to help PETA out here and get us guys more involved with animal advocacy. Really.

Unfortunately this is the only universal response picture I could come up with.






















This aptly titled “Creepy Guy” picture seems to generate the same "just sick and wrong” response from everyone.

Sorry again, PETA.

I love good advertising ads and campaigns and appreciate out of the box thinking and eye catching to the point ads like the Discovery Channels Shark week headquarters here in DC.

















So, what does all this have to do with sports?

Well, not much. Except tonight my wife and I are going to Charlestown Races and Slots to celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary.

Yes horse racing. It’s my blog so get over it.

And yes PETA is against horse racing too.

They are against slaughter houses. BTW there are none in the US and yes horses are often sold to international buyers who are not bound by US rules and regulations. Retired racers are an issue with any animal, that is why we adopted a greyhound and also foster for local greyhound associations.

But, PETA is also against racing by being an advocate for better treatment of the animals which is something I am all for. They point out that the mortality and injury rate in Canada and the US is significantly higher here than in other parts of the world such as England. There they are much more strict against the use of drugs and the horses race on natural turf. There the rate is less than 1%. Here it is over 2%. The argument, and it does seem to be true, is that dirt tracks are more dangerous and hard on the horses than grass. In fact, when a race track switched, strangely enough, to a synthetic track, there was a 40% decrease in injuries.

So, when it comes to the sexist ads being used out there, I just do not get it. To me it is just another form of exploitation and does not get people involved with what is the true mission of the organization.

Knowing my luck this week, PETA will be exploiting women in scantily clad bikinis at Charlestown Races handing out propaganda. If so, then perhaps there is a cosmic force telling me I’m missing the point.

I’ll let you know . . .

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Get Your Preak On

So it has come to this.

Horse Racings version of Jumping the Shark.

I actually kind of like the song, but the rest of the ad campaign might be pushing the edge just a bit.

But more on that later...

After last years debacle, the Preakness could not have done worse.

Or has it?

Lets review:

- After being embarrassed for years by all the drink, sex and criminal shenanigans of the Preakness infield crowd, a cracked down last year by banning patrons from bringing in their own beer. The attendance dropped to 77,850, the lowest in 24 years.

- Betting took a major hit. The Maryland handle of $7.8 million was the lowest in 10 years and a sharp drop from the record $11.2 million four years ago.

- For a while, folks were not even sure if the Preakness itself would survive financially.

So, what to do?

They (the Maryland Jockey Club - MJC) decided they liked all the drunk and disorderly people after all and after signing on for all the beer you can drink for 20 bucks to anybody who showed up for the infieldfest, an ad agency was hired to craft an advertising campaign to woo them back.

The new campaign appears to be working, at least according to the MJC. It says ticket sales are up as much as 25 percent over previous years. Its PreakOn website is getting more than 32,000 hits per week."

Tom Chuckas, president of the MJC, thinks it's a winner. Said he, "It has made other people take notice. The majority of responses, particularly from the younger demographic, have been very positive."

So what exactly does the ad campaign "Get Your Preak On" consist of?

Some of the more tasteless examples are:

A big highway billboard displaying a dude in tank top, headband and dark glasses announcing, "I Get My Preak On for Eight Straight Hours."

The radio campaign highlights a young stud talking about mixing it up with the elderly in a retirement village. He spouts, "How could I resist, especially considering this might be her last chance? I was a little concerned with how her hip would hold up, knowing we'd be at it all day."

Some people are understandably offended.

I'm just kind of sad about the whole thing.

Come on people, this is a horse race!
It's supposed to be about tradition and something special.
Do we really want images of the above to become the synonymous with horse racing?

What happened to going out to the track, dressed up, not down in a tank top, wearing the hats, having good food and yes drink in moderation and watching the races.

But with sales back up and interest Preaking peaking... This year it looks like the sharks are going to have a feeding frenzy all the way to the bank!

BTW: You can listen to the song (It really is catchy and kinda good) and view the entire advertising web site and even buy tickets if you are so inclined by clicking here at Get Your Preak On.

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