Today’s celebrities have developed an interesting habit of stripping down for any number of reasons. So in a world where Demi Moore poses preggers and naked for a magazine cover, is it any shock that celebs are bearing it all for their favourite cause? PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has been capitalizing on this trend to get the word out for their favourite causes and campaigns.
There have been a number of successful and eye-popping ads that have featured celebrities ranging from the notable names Eva Mendes and Pamela Anderson to former reality stars such as Survivor’s Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca, cashing-in on their 15 minutes, while simultaneously doing some positive work for PETA. The campaigns all fit into the broader issues that PETA is particularly concerned with, namely the areas in which animals are especially abused and hurt, such as food, clothing, testing, and entertainment. Obviously, some of these areas lend themselves more towards the effective use of sexy stripped celebs than others.
Although PETA’s ads supporting and encouraging vegetarianism are obviously a bit more of a stretch for justifying the exposed flesh, this has not stopped PETA from utilizing this powerful tool. The “leaf” (for lack of a better description) campaign is one of their major naked campaigns for vegetarianism. These ads feature Pamela Anderson and Elizabeth Berkley (of Saved by the Bell “I’m so excited…I’m so scared” fame) wearing strategically placed lettuce leaves…and not much else. Other ads feature encouraging slogans such as “Try Vegetarian” or “Let Vegetarianism Grow on You” (versions of which feature Alyssa Milano and Rosemaire). However, one of their newest (and most discussed) ads is part of their Naked Testimonial campaigns with Alicia Silverstone. The former Clueless actress is lying completely naked on a grassy area beside a pool with words proclaiming: “I am Alicia Silverstone, and I am a vegetarian.” This ad, which shows Miley what ‘bedroom eyes’ really look like, is an endorsement of the clear aesthetic benefits of vegetarianism (and probably a really good trainer). Another such ad contains Sophie Monk (Aussie actress, pop singer and model) lying on a layer of hot peppers with her hair and body splayed about with the ad encouraging us all to “Spice Up Your Life.”
All these ads use hot and toned celebrity bodies to glamorize vegetables and the vegetarian life. Whether or not they succeed in their quest to transform the average carnivore into a fuzzy animal friendly vegetarian, they will certainly draw attention. And, as celebrities can attest, any news is good news; the increased attention can only benefit the cause. It will bring the possibility of becoming a vegetarian to the minds of those who see the ads. It is a bold move, as all the veggie ads are not only tasteful but also exquisite, and I have to say their gamble paid off.
Their ads discouraging animal products in the use of clothing are a much better suited to the number of different campaigns that utilize the impact of a naked celebrity. These ads are also for the most part a tad more daring than their sister ads for vegetarianism. They feature any number of celebrities of varying levels of fame united by their bare butts and distaste for fur and leather. The famous are sorted due to compatibility into several different promotions. One such promotion is their Ink, Not mink!, which features heavily tattooed personalities. Steve-O of Jackass fame is featured against an evening background with the words superimposed, whereas in his ad, Dennis Rodman adapts the “Thinker” pose while he proposes the same message. German starts Bela B. and the Bourne trilogy’s Franka Poente pose together for one sexy topless ad also displaying any number of interesting tats while discouraging fur.
 The I Would Rather Go Naked campaign is one of the most popular, featuring any number of impressive celebrities bodies, began in 1991 and has been going strong ever since. Model Joanna Krupa posed for three separate ads for this campaign all featuring her naked in city scenes with blurred neon lights camouflaging the necessary. This is also the ad campaign that Eva Mendes participated in bashing fur, as did actress Rosalyn Sanchez. Up and comer Dominique Swain posed for a particularly effective ad that has her naked in a classroom doing with the blackboard full of repeated “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” with the words Kindness Is a Class Act inscribed under the classroom scene. This has been one of their longer campaigns that incorporates 90s figures like Christy Turlington with pop culture favourites from reality shows or any number of the Playboy bunnies.
PETA has created a number of hilarious and sexually explicit ads that also attempt to discourage the use of animal products. They include Hugh’s girlfriend and famous Playboy bunny Holly Madison suggestively proclaiming “I Always Fake It.” Famous porn star Jenna Jamison also strips down to her lingerie suggesting that the viewers “Pleather Yourself.” Australia’s start Imogene Bailey poses naked with rabbits and demands “Hands off the Buns!” Arrested Development’s David Cross posses with only his glasses on a runway suggesting “Wear Your Own Fur.” These ads are all valuable in their humour, an aspect of promotion that PETA may want to focus on instead of the upsetting and gruesome ads featuring dead and damaged animals.
All these celebrities are to be commended for their dedication to a worthy cause, but what happens if the compassion and passion for the strict fashion embargo fades? Several ads have been removed because the celebs featured were consequently photographed wearing fur or other animal products. Former pro-PETAs turned bad include Cindy Crawford who posed naked with a Siamese cat with a faux fur hat featuring a button that forbids fur and signed statements declaring her refusal to wear fur. PETA discontinued their relationship after she began to model fur coats. Her former ads for PETA now include “Sell-Out” superimposed over her naked image. Former Anti-Fur supporter Naomi Campbell’s ads were similarly revoked after she modelled a fur coat during a Milan fashion show. She also suffered from the backlash and denouncement that befalls all who betray this charity giant.
PETA has shown enormous creativity and courage for years with all the ads they present to the public. They are often criticized for the overly violent and gruesome images they release. These naked ads are a nice counterbalance to the blood soaked images as they still evoke a response and generate discussion about the issues at stake. However, they do so in a way that is not as off putting or offensive. I say kudos to PETA and the celebrities for bearing all for such a worthy cause.
© 2008 Shannon Wood; licensee (Cult)ure Magazine.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed