Verizon Pit-Bull Ad Unleashes Flurry of Complaints

NEW YORK -- Humane Society, ASPCA Say Dogs Depicted Unfairly in LG Dare Spots; Marketer Will Keep Airing Them

Verizon Wireless has stepped into a steaming pile of complaints from animal lovers over commercials for its LG Dare phone, but the marketer is sticking with the 30-second spot.

Animal-rights groups protest pits' portrayal in ad.



The commercial shows a young man trying to obtain the phone by climbing a junkyard fence, when he is instantly greeted by two pit bulls. The dogs, with cropped ears and metal choke collars, bark ferociously and lunge at the intruder. They are just a hair's breadth away from the phone because their heavy metal chains do not quite extend far enough.

The spot has infuriated groups from the Humane Society of the U.S. -- which has asked Verizon to pull the ad -- to PETA, the ASPCA and dozens of pet-related websites, which have posted petitions and message boards on the web protesting the ad with slogans like "Can They Hear Us Now?"

'Despicable'
Veterinarian Susan Ralston sent Ad Age her letter of complaint to Verizon, which says, in part: "I don't know what your company was thinking. I don't know how much money was wasted on this despicable ad. Perhaps you should donate the million or so spent on that 'creative' to pit-bull rescue in an attempt to undo the damage. I switched my BlackBerry to T-Mobile. Maybe if enough folks do the same, it'll get your attention."

Brenda Raney, a spokesperson for Verizon Wireless, said the ads were never intended to offend. There are two ads that focus on the Dare, she said; the other depicts a woman on a ledge. "These are fictional ads, designed to be over-the-top, to break through the clutter and get our message across." Verizon is not pulling the spots, she said. Interpublic Group of Cos.' McCann Erickson, New York, is Verizon's agency and created the ad.

Inappropriate and inaccurate
Kathy Bauch, senior director-corporate relations and promotion at the Humane Society, said the ad could further inflame an already outstanding prejudice against pit bulls. "We understand why advertisers use stereotypes. It resonates and people get the point," she said. "But this perpetuates the idea that it is OK to chain dogs and it is OK to have guard dogs."

Mary Harwelik, founder and director of The Real Pit Bull, an education and advocacy organization, said, "This is big news in the pit-bull world. People are outraged." Describing the ad as inappropriate and inaccurate, she said, "Pit bulls are not guard dogs and they were never meant to be guard dogs."

A statement released by the ASPCA in response to the ads says, "These dogs can make wonderful additions to a family. The public also showed their support for the evaluation and rehabilitation of the pit bulls rescued from the Michael Vick case, suggesting that they are ahead of the corporate world in their understanding of pit bulls."

Pit bulls often victims
Mr. Vick, former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, was convicted last year on counts of illegal dog-fighting. When authorities raided his home, they found 66 dogs, including 50 pit bulls. While two of the dogs were eventually euthanized, many have been rehabilitated and adopted. Mr. Vick is serving a 23-month sentence at the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., and still faces gambling charges upon his release.

"These dogs are often the victims of abuse," said Adam Goldfarb, animal-companion-issues specialist at the Humane Society.

Ms. Bauch said the Humane Society only rarely asks companies to pull ads. The last time was in 2004, when Energizer ran a spot that depicted a mother expressing displeasure at finding a cat in the dryer that had been put there by her son. Energizer complied and replaced the scene.

http://adage.com/article?article_id=129799

 

I dont know if this is good or bad for us. It is kinda funny how hypocritical the humane society and PETA really are. We think you are unfairly depicting pitbulls that we support banning. But at least people are standing up for the breed.

 

They always find a way to tie in the vick case with anything :rolleyes:

 

Ya like how thay sliped those it is unfair to chain a dog comments??
B.S.
Thay only opose stuff like this to help there immage
Chaining a dog is a hell of alot more humane than the no adoption policy here in Mi. and in other states.
All pitbulls taken in by the H.S. In Michigan are uthanized regardless of temperment. No Placement of the Apbt at all. Every last one of them Die. Without exeptions.
We dont need the Help of the Orginizations/ people bent on distroying our Breed.
We as apbt owners need to get out and vote.
No new B.S.L. laws!!!! Vote to change existing laws every time there is a chance.
Apbt clubs need to start orginizing an showing up in force in city halls every time a new Bsl type law is propsed & every time an existing laws can be changed.
Adba ,adar,& ukc clubs and presedents need to start orginizing these events. anyone who is serious about these dogs need to get out join these clubs and support the ones that are doing something to help change legislation. We need to orginize and expect more from the people making Money off of us apbt owners.The adba,aadr, ukc. etc etc. Big Game

 

plain and simple-Verizon sucks for not pulling their ad! :mad:
and
not a big fan of HSUS, but i applaud them for their efforts on this.
freakin money hungry bastards!!!!!

 

sign the petition, if you've not already:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/make-verizon-accountable
contacts @ Verizon:

Martha.Delehanty@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com,
Margaret.Feldman@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com,
Mike.Lanman@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com, Anthony.Lewis@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com,
Anthony.Melone@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com, Jack.Plating@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com,
John.Townsend@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com, Ajay.Waghray@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com,
Steve. Zipperstein@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com,
Roger.Gurnani@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com, Jim.McGean@verizonw<WBR>ireless.com,
David.Small@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com, Marni.Walden@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com,
Charlie.Falco@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com, Rose.Kirk@verizonwi<WBR>reless.com,
Michael.Maiorana@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com,
Christine.Berberich<WBR>@verizonwireless<WBR>.com,
Anthony.Bowman@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com,
Eileen.Creeden@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com, Brian.Stacy@<WBR>verizonwireless.<WBR>com,
william.kula@<WBR>verizon.com, Brenda.Raney@<WBR>VerizonWireless.<WBR>com

and
Martha.Delehanty@verizonwireless.com , Margaret.Feldman@verizonwireless.com , Mike.Lanman@verizonwireless.com , Anthony.Lewis@verizonwireless.com , Anthony.Melone@verizonwireless.com , Jack.Plating@verizonwireless.com , John.Townsend@verizonwireless.com , Ajay.Waghray@verizonwireless.com ,
Steve.Zipperstein@verizonwireless.com
Roger.Gurnani@verizonwireless.com , Jim.McGean@verizonwireless.com , David.Small@verizonwireless.com , Marni.Walden@verizonwireless.com , Charlie.Falco@verizonwireless.com , Rose.Kirk@verizonwireless.com , Michael.Maiorana@verizonwireless.com , Christine.Berberich@verizonwireless.com , Anthony.Bowman@verizonwireless.com , Eileen.Creeden@verizonwireless.com , Brian.Stacy@verizonwireless.com , william.kula@verizon.com , Brenda.Raney@VerizonWireless.com


and vid, if you've not seen it yet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hafgAqTdJes

 

I think too many people have too thin of skin....

 

Several days ago, I wrote Verizon with the following.

As a representative of a nonprofit animal rescue organization I find the recent ad by Verizon Wireless that portrayed two dogs that appeared to be pit bulls, barking and lunging toward a man as they tried to attack him, to be extremely offensive and totally unfair to the Pit Bull breed. This is a totally inaccurate, unfair and misleading depiction of the Pit Bull breeds characteristics. Pit Bulls are repeatedly misrepresented in the news media and your ad only added to the problems of a breed known as "the Nanny Dogs," because of their tenderness toward and affection of children.

How could you do this to the breed that from the 1930's to the present, have been and are still the most popular breed of dog in the United States? They must be the most popular. There's more of them in the United States than any two other breeds combined. I guess you can you justify your decision to produce and run this ad by claiming it was simply an act of greed?

I'm suggesting to some members of the Pit Bull community that they produce an ad promoting Pit Bulls positive traits.

How would this look on screen?

WITH DISTANT WAR SOUNDS IN THE BACKGROUND

STOCK FOOTAGE: An American military convoy is seen traveling along a highway in Iraq.

CLOSEUP Slowly zooming in on a "roadside bomb" with a cell phone
attached battery and detonator. On the bottom edge of the cell phone you can clearly see the word, "VERIZON."

SCENE CUTS TO TWO MEN DRESSED AS ARABS, WHO ARE, HIDING IN DITCH ABOUT 100YRDS AWAY AND WATCHING THE CONVOY AS IT APPROACHES THE BOMB. ONE OF THE MEN IS HOLDING A CELL PHONE. THE OTHER MAN TURNS TO HIM AND SAYS:

"Habib, do you really believe the bomb will go off?"

THE ONE HOLDING THE CELL PHONE TURNS IT TOWARD HIS FRIEND AND SAYS:
"Of course it will. You see?"

AS HE POINTS TO THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE PHONES FACE WHERE THE WORD "VERIZON" IS PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED.

AS HE DOES THIS, TWO AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIERS JUMP OUT OF ONE OF THE HUMVEES IN THE CONVOY. BOTH RUN FULL SPEED TOWARD THE DITCH WHERE THE TERRORISTS ARE HIDING. THE DOGS DIVE INTO THE DITCH AND YOU CAN SEE TWO TURBANS AND THE CELL PHONE FLY OUT OF THE DITCH INTO THE AIR, FOLLOWED BY THE TWO RUNNING TERRORISTS BEING CHASED BY THE TWO PIT BULLS.



"THE AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER. THE TERRORISTS WORST ENEMY!"


SCROLLS ACROSS THE SCREEN, AS THE ANNOUNCER DOES A VOICE OVER, SAYING:


"THE AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER. THE AMERICAN MILITARY'S
BEST FRIEND!"


SCENE GOES TO BLACK

Well, what cha think? Not a bad ad, huh? Short, precise, to the point. Well, actually, just like the Verizon ad, there are two points made, one about Verizon and the other about Pit Bulls. There's just that minor flip flop in the perceptive impression that's left with the viewer.
Now, seriously, I wouldn't want to put something like that on network TV. Hell, that'd cost an arm and a leg. But if it were to end up on the Internet (on several Pit Bull Forums, having tens of thousands of members) and as a result get sent around the world a couple of dozen times, and viewed by hundreds of million people. I bet it'd be a great positive publicity tool for The American Pit Bull Terrier. AND, it also says that Verizon Wireless is so damned dependable that even a terrorist would want to chose it over other services. Hey, maybe YOU could run a follow up ad promoting Verizon, and you could play on the terrorist thing and throw in a tag line like:


"VERIZON, CHOSEN BY 8 OUT OF 10 LEADING TERRORISTS!"

OR

"CHOOSE THE WIRELESS SERVICE SELECTED BY 8 OUT OF 10
LEADING TERRORISTS AS THEIR CHOICE FOR KILLING THE INFIDELS.
VERIZON THE TERRORISTS CHOICE"

Thank you
Rxxxxxx xxxxxxx
Stafford, Virginia​

I'd love to see someone do a short video commercial of this or something similar and post it in YouTube?

 

Update... Verizon Pulled The Ad?!

TV ad with pit bulls has dog group barking

ROVERlution is planning protest Sunday against a cell phone company's commercial portraying pit bulls as vicious.

By LOU PONSI
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER


BREA- A dog owner's advocacy group based here is outraged by a Verizon Wireless TV commercial, in which two American pit bull terriers – commonly known as pit bulls – are portrayed as vicious guard dogs.

In response to an ad for the Verizon Wireless LG Dare cell phone, the group, ROVERlution, says it will protest in front of a Verizon retailer at noon Sunday on Imperial Highway in Brea, said Paula Terifaj, the national group's founder.

The 30-second commercial has a young man climbing over a chain-link fence into a junkyard, attempting to obtain the Verizon LG Dare phone. He awakens two pit bulls, which are tied down with metal choke collars.
The dogs bark ferociously and lunge at the intruder. The dogs get within inches of the man before being yanked to a halt because the chains don't extend far enough.

"They are promoting the negative stereotype of the pit bull breed," said Terifaj, a Brea veterinarian, whose group has held protests against spaying and neutering, as well as banning ownership of certain breeds.
"It's not just the pit bull. Dogs in general should not be left tied up. It sends the wrong message. … It feeds into more of the problem in a society that thinks every pit bull is aggressive. It's irresponsible.''

A Verizon statement says the commercial with the dogs "is no longer on the schedule."

"It was never our intent to reflect a negative image with our advertisement,'' said spokesman Ken Muche.

Terifaj said 20 to 50 people will show up for Sunday's demonstration. She is encouraging group members to stage protests in front of Verizon retailers throughout the country.

The ad can be seen on youtube.com by putting in "Verizon pit bull" into the search field.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/v...ll?slideshow=1#

 

Dumbest crap Ive ever heard.

 

Are you serious?

 

Nope. I think too many people enjoy the penis-extension stereotype that their dog gives them. :rolleyes:

We have enough bad press out there. We don't need any more.

My next mission? Taking out the byb scum who pretend to be something they are not. They are a sacrifice that must be made in order to keep my own dogs safe........

 

according the the petition site, the ad has been pulled.

 

Yep, see post 9

 

yeah, i just received this:

Sat 7/26/08 4:59 AMTo: sukixxxxxxxxx
Dear Sue,

You signed the petition, Make Verizon Accountable. Can They Hear Us Now?, on Jul 18, 2008. The petition received 5083 signatures. The petition author, R. Brace and the ASPCA online community, has now closed the petition and posted the results:

Message from the petition author, R. Brace and the ASPCA online community:

---------------------------------

I have just spoken with Steve Schwartzman, Executive Coordinator, who told me that the offensive ad has been pulled in all markets. Thank you to all who signed this petition and made the calls! Mr. Schwartzman was very understanding of our feelings, and admitted that they have received quite a bit of heat over this commercial.
Each and every one of you made the difference.

Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Renee Brace and the ASPCA Online Community

 

now to validate my point in the other thread about this commercial...will pulling the add buy game bred dogs respect or change anything in the eyes of joe public about what a apbt is and isnt??

So if the commercial kept running how would that change what the public already thinks? It wont dont and cant...no matter what light theyre portrayed in the APBT is always going to be viewed exactly as the commercial shows by the general public...

nobody else sees our dogs like we do and nobody else thinks anyting but what was in the commercial is a APBT....its already ingrained in the publics mind and no amount of protest over any commercial or group will change it...

Still dont mean you shouldnt preserve and hide your dogs for the future because its only gonna get worse and there is no way to change the image that has been established...

Thats a fact...

 

It probably made PETA's mouth water when they saw those two APBT's. Probably made their green needle fingers itch.

 

I disagree.
There is a way to change it. We need to find a way to put our good dogs in the public eye and let them get their hands on them. Not so much own them as we all know this breed isnt for everyone, just be able to interact with them and see with their own eyes and feel with their own hands that they are NOT THE MONTSTERS they have been painted as by the media...As Ive said before, my Mom HATED APBT's before I got mine. Now she adores them. There is no better breed of dog on the planet and ANYONE who has owned a good one will agree. There are shitty (BYB) dogs out of any breed but the loyalty of the Pit Bull is second to none. If there was a commercial aired with as big of an audience as that verizon commercial showing Pit Bulls in a possitive light playing and laying around with childred you would be supprised at the outcome. The problem is there are no organizations with the capital willing to fund such an ad. If there was a way to flood the airwaves with as much positive as there has been negative it WOULD make a difference. But that right there is pissing up a rope. It would definately help our cause but it would be damn near impossible to make happen. There are celebs that own and love the breed. You would think at least ONE of them would have the heart to step up and TRY to make a difference by puting out a PSA or something of the sort about our dogs and how they've been portrayed as something they're not.

 

Just did some digging. Apparently, Micheal J Fox owns APBT's and as passionate as he is about the Parkinsons Foundation, maybe, just maybe he'd be willing to throw the breed a bone...(no pun intended) His Foundation has raised over 126 million dollars to research the disease... Just imagine if he put 1% of that effort into clearing the name of the APBT! I looked and looked for contact information and came up with nothing. Maybe one of you with better internet digging skills than myself could find a way to drop him a line with some solid info on whats going on. Its a long shot but its worth a try IMO. I'll do anything I can to help. Crazier things have happened! YIS, DJ.