This stupid ad will work when pigs have wings

I know it seems unlikely, but I can't help but wonder if this glorious piece of stupidity is a conspiracy of the Australian meat industry.

Why would the meat industry create a video (for airing in cinemas and on television) for Animals Australia a pro-animal organization that's campaigning against factory farming and the cruelty it inflicts on animals?

Well, take a look. I think you'll see what I mean.

(This is a long video, more than 11 minutes, but the Stupid Ad part is at the beginning.)

(Or watch it here on Vimeo.)

Take note of the song they're singing: "There's a Place for Us" from West Side Story. Sung by the main characters when their messed-up world is about to get very much worse, and they find out there is not a place for them.

Oops. Things are not looking good for the pigs and chickens.

Okay, I can almost overlook that, since not everyone will think about the story, but take the song at face value.

But then the ad hits us with a blinding flash of utter stupidity: The a pig sprouts wings and flies away from the factory.

So the message? How could it be anything but: There will be no more factory farming ... when pigs have wings!

That is, never. That interpretation is pretty much unavoidable.

I wondered if I was missing something, so I asked alert reader Sean Triner in Australia if the "... when pigs have wings" idiom has the same currency and meaning Down Under as it does in the US.

Alas, it does. This is a video that clearly states that factory farming is permanent and inevitable. Who'd waste their time campaigning against it?

I can see only two explanations for this video:

1. The Australian meat industry secretly did this to undermine public opposition to factory farming by persuading everyone that it will never end.
2. The agency creatives who produced this stupid ad were so in love with their goofy concept and high-end production that they didn't notice they directly contradicted the message they meant to make, and did so more clearly and loudly than the message itself.

Sadly, I'm afraid it's #2.

I prefer the other explanation. It's more interesting.

More Stupid Nonprofit Ads.

Comments

[Tom Ahern]

I don't know, Jeff. After seeing that ad, my next ham and eggs breakfast is going to slide down just a little harder. Beneath the music, it was a hard-hitting documentary.

[Nancy Otto]

I disagree, Jeff. I think the ad is very powerful and don't feel confused by the message. I think most people feel that it is hopeless trying to change the way farm animals are treated. I interpret this ad as saying that even though it will be a hard fight, it is possible -- it's a wake up call for us to break through our complacency and hopelessness. Thanks for sharing it -- I want to give them money!

[Amanda]

I'm a huge supporter of animal rights but this advert made me cringe, it is ridiculous. It must have taken a lot of time to create that flying pig and those singing animals, it just looks stupid. I love the work Animals Australia does, but this is laughable.

[Peter Maple]

I tend to go with the conspiracy theory. The meat industry paid for the ad hence the (in their eyes) rather clever subliminal message. Or perhaps I'm just too cynical.

Grumpy Old Fundraiser