Less than a month after one of its billboards was banned by advertising watchdog the ASA for comparing eating meat with the dangers of smoking, vegan campaign group PETA is resurrecting the campaign – this time focusing specifically on bacon, sausages and other processed meats.
The original poster, which showed a small child smoking a cigar, warned parents “You wouldn’t let your child smoke: like smoking, eating meat increases the risk of heart disease and cancer”.
Banning the ad in a ruling at the end of June, the Advertising Standards Authority said this claim was misleading because it suggested eating any type of meat increased the risk of disease.
In response, PETA’s new campaign now mentions bacon, sausages and processed meats specifically rather than meat in general. The reference to heart disease has also been removed, with the new creative now reading: “You wouldn’t let your child smoke: like smoking, eating bacon, sausages and other processed meats is linked to cancer.”
Like the original billboard, the new billboard will be placed in Liverpool.
PETA said it was determined that its “public-service health message” on the dangers of meat consumption be heard. “With this new billboard, PETA will remind parents that just as we should put down cigarettes, we should also put down meat and pick up fibre-rich, heart-healthy plant-based foods instead,” added associate director Mimi Bekhechi.
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