Lambs as Gentle Animals: the Industry of Wool and Veal - Research Paper Example

Creative Brief: There is an on-going practice of shipping Australian live sheep in many destinations around the world for its merino wool, and food consumption. The flock of sheep usually is placed in cramped, crowded multi-level ships. This campaign is against the use and abuse of sheep, either trade of wools as well as mulesing. Mulesing is an agriculture factory practice of removing lose skinfolds of sheep by skinning leaving the area an open wound, a much "cheaper choice" from proper hygienic practice to avoid swarming of flies. Animal Liberation aims a multi-media campaign for radio, television, outdoor posters and print publications to raise awareness among the public on sheep industry cruelty as well as urge policy-makers to stop the cruel practices (PETA & Animal Liberation, 2006). Client: Animal Liberation is a charity with registration number CFN 11637 founded in 1976 by Christine Townend with the aim to champion the rights of animals including humans, but basically focuses on non-humans. It has branches all over Australia and has thousands of supporters. They base their philosophies of liberating animals from suppression on Professor Peter Singer's Animal Liberation book. Animal Liberation appear at music festivals and hold monthly public meetings where information about campaigns and actions are discussed. They engage in research and advertising to get their message across. (Animal Liberation, 2006). Campaign Objective: The campaign aims to raise awareness and vigilance among the public in order to help ban the practice of mulesing, exporting live sheep, as well as end unnecessary cruelty to live sheep in the agriculture sector. The campaign will be on a 6-month period with the aim to encourage policy-makers to ban the cruelty practices on lambs. Target Audience: The general public from childhood to elderly is the target audience of this campaign, but focus is more on anybody who can be vigilant and dedicated. They will be urged to join protests against sheep cruelty, write their legislators or local government representatives, and sign-up in position papers. They are not necessarily vegans, vegetarians, or even vigilant members of any environmental and animal rights groups. Just the ordinary public who may go on with their lives as it were after sending a letter to their legislators or even the prime minister. Key Insight: Sheep or lambs are gentle, useful animals that can feel pain, fear and loneliness. They are in-demand in many global countries for their fleece, veal and skins, but they should not be treated as just meat and wool-producing machines. The PETA (2006) reported that, "In Australia, where more than a quarter of the world's wool comes from, farmers use tools similar to gardening shears to cut huge chunks of skin and flesh from lambs' backsides-without giving them any painkillers-in a crude mutilation called mulesing. And each year, millions of Australian sheep who no longer produce enough wool are crowded on export ships and sent to the Middle East, where they are cruelly slaughtered. Sheep who survive the terrifying voyage are dragged off trucks by their ears and legs, tied up, and beaten, and they have their throats slit while they are still conscious." Proposition: Stop cruelty to lambs! Support: People will be urged to avoid eating veal and buying wool until a ban on the cruelty on lambs is enacted. This will inform the government and agriculture sector that the public are aware of this malpractice and that it is wrong to continue the cruelty. Unless a solid action is taken to stop the cruelty, the public will not support the sheep industry through boycotting of sheep products such as veal and wool. The public will also be urged to be vigilant by joining forums and discussions about the subject matter, and write their legislators asking to legislate a ban on the practice. Tone of Voice: Tone of voice is serious. Cruelty is not a light or laughing matter. It is horrendous and inhumane. It should make people stop and consider the implication of cruelty to animals, a practice with a big possibility to be extended beyond other animals, such as the homo sapiens. Mandatories: The logo of Animal Liberation shall be used in most visuals but the main focus shall be on lambs, thereby, a visual representation of the lamb shall be necessary in most media use. 30-Second Television Commercial: "Stop cruelty to lambs!" Animal Liberation TV ad--- Script Graphics: AL logo, website and hotline on red bar framing the screen. Bottom with the text "Write your legislator to ban cruelty on lambs." The Scene: In black and white. A model walking on the ramp with a well-fitting wool outfit. Audio Video "You're So Cruel" by U2/or any from the Alternative Nation album In black and white: A model on the ramp walks towards the audience wearing a fitted wool outfit. Pans on the model and shows blood on the outfit. Same music Overlap on video: 1st photo, a B&W photo of farmer catching sheep. Overlap on 1st: a 2nd B&W photo overlaps on 1st showing same man mutilate and strip skin fold of sheep. The portion showing blood & flesh are in blood red colour. Same music 3rd B&W photo overlaps the 1st two. It shows an aged sheep with dull fleece dragged in a container van with ship on background. Same music 4th photo overlaps the 1st three. It shows photo of overcrowded lambs/sheep in a multi-level container inside ship. Same music 5th photo overlapping others. Lambs dragged by the ears off the truck Speed up pace, another photo overlaps showing sheep being kicked. Same music Last photo showing a conscious sheep slit on the neck. Same background music Back to video of model on the ramp now dressed in red. Background Music Up & Out. Black screen. Flash of text in red "What have the lambs done to deserve this" in diagonal position. No Sound. Black screen: Flash of "Act Now." No Sound. Out. Outdoor Poster: "Will you be my Hannibal" A lamb holding a poster of "Silence of the Lambs" with the question hanging in huge bold letters (please refer to Appendix): "Will you be my Hannibal" Alluding to psychotic serial killer Hannibal Lechter of the movie "Silence of the Lambs". Below overimposed on the visual of "Silence of the Lambs" is "Silence of the Lambs 2." Then, just below the movie poster is "We adhere to a policy of non-violence." AL logo and hotline. 30-Second Radio Commercial: Background: Lamb "Baaaaa" till it fades Voice Over (Male): (Up and fade): Monthly, hundreds of thousands of Australian sheep are mutilated, shipped to all parts of the world in crowded containers, kicked, dragged by the ears and slit by the throat while still conscious. (PAUSE) VO: (in clear whisper) What have they done to deserve this (PAUSE) VO: Nothing. (PAUSE) VO: But be gentle and provide us veal and wool. Write to your Agriculture Minister to ban the cruelty now. A message of concern from Animal Liberation. Print Ad: Headline: What has this lamb done lately Photo: Photo Source: Animal Liberation Copy: Lambs are gentle animals that provide us wool and veal. But behind this industry is cruelty beyond comprehension: cutting of their skinfold without anesthesia, shipping them live when old to other countries in crowded and unsanitary containers, dragged by the ears off trucks, and kicked before slitting on throat while still conscious. All these can be avoided. Write to The Honourable Peter McGauran, MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. GPO Box 858, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia +61 0413 601 303 (fax) or e-mail peter.mcgauran.mp@aph.gov.au to stop lamb cruelty now. A message of concern from Animal Liberation. Budget: Media Duration Budget Estimate (Pls fix) Radio Daily for 1 month $800. Television 1 month $2,500. Outdoor Posters 6 months $500. Print Ads 1/week for 3 months $800. TOTAL $4,600. Deadlines: Radio ad presentation: 1 week prior to airing in order to meet revision changes of client. Television ad presentation: At least one week prior to airing in order to meet all requirements and revisions of re-production of client. Poster: 3 days before press run in order to meet changes required by client. Print Ad: 3 days prior to press run in order to meet changes required by client. References: Animal Liberation (AL). "Sheep Mulesing." Accessed October 2006 from http://www.animal-lib.org.au/lists/mulesing/mules.shtml. BBC News. "Ham attack hits Australian sheep." 20 November 2003. From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3282889.stm Peoples' Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). "Further Abuses of Australian Animals Exposed in Gruesome Investigation." Save the Sheep.com. From http://www.savethesheep.com/ Appendix: Outdoor Poster: Read More