Sunday, July 5, 2009

Victory! Sprint Agrees Not to Use Great Apes in Ads

http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/06/victory_sprint.php

Peta Action Alert!!

Thank you for taking action recently to urge Sprint to stop circulating its commercial that features a chimpanzee and never use great apes in its advertisements again. Thanks to your efforts, Sprint has agreed not to use great apes in future advertisements!

If you've been to the movies recently, you've probably seen this commercial, in which a chimpanzee's "agent" is trying to negotiate for his "client." The negotiating agency retorts with, "It's a chimp," and his agent says, "He's a chimpanzee, and now he's offended," as the baby chimpanzee, clad in shorts and sunglasses, slurps on a cocktail. Being "offended" is the least of the worries of great apes used for entertainment. Chimpanzee babies are taken from their mothers within days of birth, which is extremely traumatic for both babies and their mothers, and are trained through physical punishment and domination. An undercover investigator who worked at a prominent Hollywood training facility saw a trainer kick baby chimpanzees and hit them with fists and sticks. Furthermore, primatologists conducted a survey that found that portraying chimpanzees in comedic settings undermines conservation efforts for these animals, who are endangered in the wild.

PETA met with Sprint executives and explained the inherent cruelty of the procurement, training, and disposal of great apes when they're no longer useful to the entertainment industry. After meeting with us and hearing from caring supporters like you, Sprint has agreed not to use great apes in future ads. Please take a moment to call Sprint Nextel Corporation at 1-800-877-4646 or *2 from your Sprint phone to thank the company for its compassionate decision.

Thank you for all that you do to help animals. With your help, we can make a difference!

Sincerely,
Kristie Phelps
Assistant Director
Animals in Entertainment Campaign

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