Complaints over snake ad rejected

The National Council of the SPCA (NSPCA), and a consumer, Ms Couryer, lodged complaints with the Advertising Standards Authority. The NSPCA submitted that the advertisement "implied potential irresponsible actions towards animals", while Ms Couryer stated that "to depict a living sentient as merely a fashion accessory is offensive because all creatures including snakes have the right to be viewed and portrayed as sentient beings and not merely as some product for human consumption or human vanity."

Allenby Campus responded by saying that the advertisement doesn't reflect the snake as merely a fashion accessory, but rather reflects a commentary on the "passion and motivation that would-be fashion designers exhibit in their desire to enter the fashion industry". Potential designers, they went on to say, are likely to see "a hat in a peacock's feathers, an earing in a safety pin, a handbag in a crocodile and indeed a belt in a snake".

The ASA Directorate rejected the complaints as they saw "nothing in the advertisement that clearly promotes cruelty to animals". They were also of the view that a lot of fashion designing is inspired by animals and the surrounding environment, but does not logically result in or encourage the slaughter of animals. They saw the advert as seeking "to build an association between fashion designing and finding inspiration from the environment and the animal kingdom".

One wonders what the difference would have been, if any, had the advert used, instead of a snake, something furry, like a mink, or a stoat, or perhaps a cuddly Dalmation puppy ...