Mark T. Edmonson

Shall you kill? The blood trail is distinct; the reasoning behind it—profound! Of course any person nowadays would understand such a gory scene as illustrated in a controversial ad by the World Wildlife Federation (WWF). Their intended objective in educating the public to conserve our wildlife can be seen as “brash,” “bold” and “daring.” But their understanding of the topic is genuine. They wish to promote a view on society that seems to be dissipating with time. The preservation of animal species is a necessity, the wait for which is all too long given lists of endangered species.

Now in this particular ad called “Don’t buy exotic animal souvenirs” we are shown a woman dressed in tropical wear, pulling along her suitcase through an airport, most notably after a serene trip outside of the country. But the trail behind her is that of blood, and in a surreal environment. The powerful message suggests that while vacationing overseas, the exotic animals are killed off by tourists. These animals succumb to unnatural deaths at the expense of profit - So, more tourists mean more dead animals.

For a conservative adult, this ad appears harsh and very pronounced. It must not be marketed in areas frequented by children because the current view of society is to “protect” children from subject matters meant exclusively for adults. However, in my opinion I applaud the WWF for introducing such brash advertisement.

There is no difference in their campaign, than in movies depicting war, violence or gore that are rated PG and PG-13. Many parents have accepted the violence and gore in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy for their underage children, so why should it bother them when an ad such as this one reaches the modern city?

This ad informs the public that there are certain activities intended for the well-being of the person, but at the expense of another, whether living or inanimate. The question here is whether or not our society is ready to accept knowledge, such as this ad, in pure conjunction to the message that exotic animal souvenirs are harvested from illegal acts that are detrimental to the survival of the animal species.

Would you buy KILLER souvenirs?

Photograph Credit:
Sabrina Segal