Last week, Dan wrote about an ad by Molson-Coors that angered people in Toronto, now PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk went on the radio show, Montel Across America yesterday morning to discuss and justify PETA’s controversial ad on a billboard in Jacksonville, Florida.

The ad, “Save the Whales” shown above, features an overweight woman wearing a bikini coupled with the tagline, “Lose the blubber: Go vegetarian.” She said that the ad will be taken down and will be replaced by an ad highlighting how much weight you can lose by going vegan.

I agree that the ad is going to far. Basically, it says that anyone who is fat is causing the extinction of certain species and I think that is simply overkill, so to speak. Overeating and obesity is far more complex than that, and to now give those people a complex to say that they should be shamed for the scarcity of some animals is not the best approach.

This is what PETA’s blog said as they announced their new mean-spirited ad campaign…

“For most of us, summer is fading fast, but for residents of Jacksonville, Florida, bikini season lasts all year. What does the Sunshine State’s endless summer mean for PETA? Our phone lines ring off the hook with reports of “beached whale sightings.” Good one, guys.

Luckily, we know the secret to getting—and maintaining—a killer beach bod. Did you know that vegetarians are 20 to 30 percent leaner than meat-eaters? So, to help residents and tourists “lose the blubber”—and hopefully to deter prank callers—we’re launching a brand-new billboard urging people to go vegetarian.”

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