Ever stumble across a litterbox that hasn’t been emptied for a
few days? That is how we (and our cats) feel about the following
ads. With thumb and forefinger clamped firmly on our noses, we
announce the recipients of the 1998 Litterbox Awards, for ads
that really reek when it comes to promoting compassion and respect
for animals.
The undisputed First Place loser is Nike, for its TV commercial depicting Minnesota Vikings
defensive end John Randle chasing a chicken wearing the jersey
of Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. The ad concludes
with Randle standing over a grill cooking you-know-who. We didn’t
think this was funny and we told Nike so. Nike refused to pull
the ad, claiming that it was “overwhelmingly popular” and was
“meant to be a humorous way an athlete might prepare for a game.”
Funny, Nike sang a different tune when hunters objected to an
ad that they perceived as offensive. Wrote Nike, in a letter to
the editor of an outdoors magazine, “...the last thing we intended
was to offend anyone. In fairness to the many hunters who have
as much 
appreciation for the outdoors as we do, we will stop running the
ad.”
Hey, Nike, we love the outdoors, too. But we are having second
thoughts about those nonleather Nike walking shoes we were planning
to buy...
Second Place goes to cellular phonemaker Ericsson for its ad featuring a stony-faced
man wearing a coat made of dead fish. The thought of killing a
few dozen fish for a photo op left us cold.
The Third Place booby prize is awarded to RJR Nabisco Holdings for its ad suggesting
that a sweet-faced pig is nothing more than a walking entrée.
Somebody was obviously smoking something when they came up with
this offensive ad.
Dishonorable Mention
Pepsi-Cola Company gets a Dishonorable Mention for its repulsive
Slice commercial featuring a biology student cutting up and eating
a frog. Talk about adding insult to injury! A warning to all you
kids: Don’t try this at home. Dissection “specimens” are so loaded
with formaldehyde that simply breathing in the fumes can be hazardous
to your health.
The U.K.’s Barr company left a bad taste in our mouths with two
of its ads for Irn Bru soft drinks. One implies cows want to be
killed and eaten. The other depicts a dog in a pot on a stove
with the tagline, “He drank my Irn Bru, so I had to cook him.”
Let’s let Irn Bru know that, since its ads were so hard to swallow,
we’re having trouble swallowing its products!
•Tell the recipients of our dubious “honors” that it’s time to
change the litter. Let them know that to compassionate consumers,
animal-unfriendly ads go over like hairballs. They can elicit
far more purrs from contented customers with ads that show respect
and compassion for animals.
Tom Clark
President
Nike Corporation
1 Bowerman Dr.
Beaverton, OR 97005-6453
Tel.: 1-800-344-6453
Lars A. Stålberg
Senior Vice President
Telefonaktiebolaget LM
Ericsson (LME)
Telefonplan
S-126 25 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel.: 46 8 719 00 00
Steven Goldstone
Chair and CEO
RJR Nabisco Holdings, Inc.
1301 Ave. of the Americas
New York, NY 10019-6013
Tel.: 212-258-5600
Craig E. Weatherup
Chair and CEO
Pepsi-Cola Company
1 Pepsi Way
Somers, NY 10598-2201
Tel.: 914-767-6000
W.R.G. Barr
Executive Director
Barr (A G) PLC
1306 Gallowgate
Glasgow, Scotland
G31 4DS
Tel.: (01415) 541899
Tlx.: 778807
Fax: (01415) 545768
| Fortunately, for every company that stinks at promoting compassion,
there are the cool cats that sell their products and warm consumers’
hearts at the same time. Here are our picks:
 Sean Flanagan, Publisher
Men’s Health
33 E. Minor St.
Emmaus, PA 18098-0001
 Robert S. Oswald, CEO
Robert Bosch Corporation
2800 S. 25th Ave.
Broadview, IL 60153
 Paul Murrill, Vice President
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL 33132
 Kay Tucker Addis, Editor,
The Virginian-Pilot Online
150 W. Brambleton Ave.
Norfolk, VA 23510
Honorable mentions to Home Depot for featuring a duck rescue,
Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc., for praising fake fur and Kodak
for lobster liberation.
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