Factory Farming The Musical

Animals Australia and PETA have a lot in common. In general they both fight against animal cruelty. And both feel the need to explain much about their cause.
But where PETA exaggerates in their communication with a lot of sex, Animals Australia is doing it a lot friendlier as in their new campaign Make it Possible.

The video below, an important item in the campaign, is a bit confusing. I thought it was the PSA. But it isn’t. The first two minutes is the TVC running on Australian TV and in cinemas until Xmas. The 11 minute version as shown below is the web version. It’s all in one, a musical, talking heads, a documentary.

“Factory farming is the number one cause of animal cruelty today. We have a plan to end it. Watch Make it Possible - a world first for animals. Then sign the pledge, and make an end to factory farming possible.”

More after the break.

I asked Animals Australia why they choose to communicate it this way.

Anthony Ritchie, campaigner at Animals Australia:

Pigs and chickens aren’t animals that people instantly connect with or have empathy for so our first task was simply getting people to like them – to think about them in a different way and to understand that these animals share the same capacity to suffer and to feel love as our dogs and cats at home. The success of movies like Charlotte’s Web and Babe gave us a great formula to work with and that’s what we had in mind when we created our ‘hero pig’. The rest of the TVC uses real footage from factory farms in Australia – it was critical that what we were showing reflected the current situation for most animals raised for food in Australia today. Finding the song ‘Somewhere’ and obtaining the rights to use it brought the vision together. We always knew that if animals could plead their own case for a kinder world then factory farming would have ended long ago and the words to Somewhere so beautifully encapsulate our core message – that at the very least animals raised for food should be provided with a life worth living.

Whereas for TV we had a short time frame to get our message across, for web we recognised that we had the opportunity to offer people more information that would empower them to make informed choices. Thus the 11 min format. The first 2minutes are essentially what people will see on TV or in cinemas, then we thought it was important to provide people with additional information about how animals are treated in factory farms, and how their choices can help end this cruelty. The support from iconic Australian TV personalities, athletes and musicians for this campaign has been overwhelming. So it made sense to have them help deliver the message - to show that people from all walks of life are making kind choices to help make an end to factory farming possible.

I’ve often wondered why Animal Rights organisations feel the need to explain so much about their cause. Like the 11 minute video and the campaign website. The amount of information can quickly be too much.
Several Australian TV personalities speaking in the video from Animals Australia makes it more clear. Seeing the cruelty was a bombshell for them. They thought the law protect all animals.
And then I still wonder whether the video couldn’t be shorter, more comprehensive.
It is the trap called passion.
But I will not complain too much. Animals Australia did a great job with the two-minute-musical.

Below an older ad made by agency Loud.
See the whole campaign here.