Shocking anti foie gras advertising campaign is banned

by Staff, brandrepublic.com, 13 December 2005, 08:45AM

LONDON – An animal rights campaign against foie gras, which highlights the treatment suffered by geese and ducks whose livers are used to make the delicacy, has been banned in Belgium.

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The outdoor ad campaign, created by Duval Guillaume Brussels for animal rights activist group Gaia, had been due to run at more than 40 railway stations in Belgium in the run-up to Christmas when foie gras -- literally "fatty liver" -- is still very popular.

However, according to a spokesman for Gaia, most people are not aware how it is made.

"Most people don't know it's made from the grotesquely enlarged livers of ducks and geese, the result of horrifying force-feeding. The campaign was supposed to run in 40 major Belgian railway stations... but the railway company refused the posters because they are 'too shocking'," the spokesman said.

Two poster executions feature geese standing dressed in sado-masochistic leather outfits, with one poster showing a goose chained in a cellar with a spiked S&M or "gimp" outfit over its head. The second has a goose chained again with a wooden ball lodged in its mouth and chains around its neck.

The text on the ads reads "Foie gras, food for sadists".

The ads were refused by the Belgium railway company NMBS on the basis that it was a political ad.

NMBS said it feared the posters would provoke violent reactions and was concerned they would also be seen by children.

The ads were written by Tom Berth, art directed by Geert De Rocker. The creative directors were Katrien Bottez and Peter Ampe and the photographer was Kris Van Beek.

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