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PETA’s New Anti-Fur Ad may Come with a Price
Image Source: PETA.org
PETA has been making headlines a lot this week and so far it hasn’t been for good reasons.
First, they’ve been taken to court over a dispute with US Global Exotics—a company that specializes in the worldwide delivery of exotic animals.
Now, they may have one upset First Lady on their hands. Why? PETA used an image of Michelle Obama in their latest anti-fur ad—without her permission.
Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA, claims that her organization would not have sought Obama’s consent for the ad because it knows that she can’t make such an endorsement. Apparently, they included Obama’s image in the ad simply because of a White House confirmation that she does not wear fur.
Thus far, the anti-fur ads have appeared in Washington’s Metro stations, magazines and on PETA’s website. Along with Mrs. Obama, they also feature Oprah Winfrey, Carrie Underwood and Tyra Banks.
Do you think it’s right for PETA—or any organization—to use someone’s image for their ads without that person’s permission? Why or why not? Post your thoughts and comments below.
By Heidi Marshall
Tags: ad campaign, anti-fur ad, First Lady, lack of permission, Michelle Obama, PETA
3 Comments
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More recent coverage on this “incident” shows that those in the White House are not particularly happy with the use of Michelle’s image.
The argument seems to go that PETA wanted to use an image of Mrs. Obama because she once stated that she does not wear fur, and they wanted to praise her for that.
While this is very nice and all, those in the White House, particularly Michelle’s spokesperson, stand by the fact that PETA used her image without consent or permission. Michelle–and others in the house–are not able to fund, promote or endorse certain campaigns. PETA knows this, though the use of her image might be suggesting that she is promoting their campaign.
Another thing to note is that the rest of the women in the picture (Oprah, Underwood and Banks) are all on record as publicly endorsing PETA’s anti-fur campaigns. PETA also claims that by Michelle simply stating that she does not wear fur gives them enough license to use her image.
I think that if they were aware that Michell Obama could not officially promote their campaign or consent to being used in part of it, they should not have used her image.
If they went to the trouble of getting permission from the other 3 women, they should have also sought out permission from a 4th, instead of using one from someone they knew would not be allowed to partake in such things.
There is a legal point of interest concerning any image made by the government in that it becomes public domain. So legally, if the photo is from a government agency (and there must be plenty of Michelle Obama pictures that are public domain) apparently anyone can use it. Just look at all the Barack Obama pictures out there. The PETA add is pretty tame and doesn’t make any serious claims. It’s also not for profit, which distinguishes it from another example: when Ryan Air used an image of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni in their ads without permission. They were fined 60,000€ of which only 1€ went to Sarkozy.
l guess the question is does michelle o just not like wearing fur, or does she oppose fur fashion and anyone else wearing it. If she opposes it, whether president or pauper we should have the right and courage to say we do.
l guess peta is not actually saying these women are anti fur politically, but are fab without wearing it, but maybe theyre suggesting it. Shouldn`t be a major problem, just a need for peta to state, michelle o is not making a political statement, but personally chooses not to wear fur.