Students trying to find out more about animal rights Monday evening got more than they bargained for.
Dan Mathews, the senior vice president of media campaigns for PETA, discussed ethical treatment of animals and some of the more risque marketing campaigns the organization uses.
In a speech peppered with graphic images of naked celebrities and footage of animals being slaughtered, Mathews addressed a crowd of about 30 in Pugh Hall hosted by the Bob Graham Center. Earlier in the day he spoke to the Florida Free Speech Forum.
Mathews said one of PETA’s most well-known campaigns is the one titled “Rather Be Naked Than Wear Fur,” where celebrities, like Wendy Williams and Steve-O, pose nude for free to raise awareness of animal rights.
During his presentation, Mathews unveiled a new photo in the campaign featuring P!nk, which will go on display during New York Fashion Week.
PETA, which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, uses celebrities in some of its advertisements to reach people who aren’t watching the news, Mathews said.
“We live in such an aspirational culture. People are obsessed with celebrities,” he said. “That’s why we rely on celebrities for our ads.”
The ads most effective at making change, though, he said, are the ones with footage of what’s happening to animals in slaughterhouses and farms.
Mathews showed a few videos during his presentation, including Tim Gunn in an informational video about fur in the fashion industry, Jason Biggs in a commercial speaking out against SeaWorld and Peter Dinklage discussing why people should leave animal products off their plates by showing footage of slaughterhouses.
After Mathews finished speaking, there was a Q&A session with Gail Sasnett-Stauffer, the assistant director of public programs for the Bob Graham Center.
In the audience was Shelby Nix, a UF animal science senior, who found out about the presentation through her public speaking class.
“I (wanted) to experience more powerful public speaking,” she said, “and (see how he could) convince a roomful of people of something they may or may not believe in.”
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 2/10/2015 under the headline “PETA discusses marketing methods, use of nudes to attract attention"]
Khloé Kardashian
Sasha Grey
Pamela Anderson
Holly Madison
Audrina Patridge
Taraji P. Henson
Olivia Munn
Laura Vandervoort
Alexandra Burke
Eva Mendes
Karina Smirnoff
Lisa Edelstein
Sourced from Peta.org/video/id-rather-go-naked-than-wear-fur/
Dan Mathews, senior vice president for PETA, speaks to an audience in Pugh Hall on Monday night about marketing strategies used by the organization.
