As anyone who's seen our Super Bowl commercial can attest, we know a good ad when we see one. We can also spot a bad advertisement, and when we do, we're not shy about sharing our feelings. Every time we see that a company has incorporated a negative—or positive—message about animals into an ad, we immediately contact it with a nomination for our annual Litterbox or Glitterbox awards. We've sifted through the finalists, and we're excited to announce 2008's winners. Drum roll, please …

In the Litterbox category, for ads that stink:

The Golden Scoop goes to …
Levi Strauss & Co., for exploiting an orangutan in its recent viral video. Undercover investigations at primate training facilities reveal that trainers rip baby great apes away from their mothers and kick, punch, and beat them in order to force them to perform confusing and uncomfortable "tricks" that they don't understand.

The Silver Scoop goes to …
Kansas City International Airport, for its use of a chimpanzee, Kenzie, in an ad that never should have made it off the ground. Chimpanzees can live to be more than 60 years old, but by the age of 8, they become too strong to be handled and are often discarded at roadside zoos, where they can languish in squalor for decades.

And the Bronze Scoop goes to …
Citigroup for featuring a live elephant in its commercial "Safari," which showed an elephant sitting on the hood of a family's rental car. Animal trainers want you to think that elephants are treated with love and care, but if that were the truth, don't you think that elephant trainers would be carrying bags of peanuts instead of bullhooks?

Now, for the best ads of the year:

The Golden Scoop goes to …
Bridgestone and its ad agency the Richards Group for a charming commercial showing that—thanks to dependable tires—animals don't have to be the victims of drivers' love for the open road. Cars kill an estimated 1 million animals every day in the U.S. alone.

The Silver Scoop goes to …
ADT and its ad agency W.B. Doner & Company for showing that the company's Fire Protection Program saves human and animal lives. Dogs are part of the family for about 45 percent of Americans, and it's important to make sure that we take all the necessary steps to protect animals in emergencies.

The Bronze Scoop goes to …
Architex International, for an ad promoting the company's authentic faux-leather line, which features four cows and the tagline "Hey, it's no skin off our backs." As if producing this excellent cruelty-free product wasn't enough, Architex goes above and beyond in this ad to let consumers know why faux is the only way to go.

Here's hoping that all companies decide to follow the lead of progressive companies like Bridgestone, ADT, and Architex International and think outside the "litterbox" with their new ads in 2009. We'll be watching.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Back in December, we announced the winners of our annual "Proggy" awards, which recognize animal-friendly people, companies, and products. One of those companies is CeeTox, a Michigan firm that develops humane alternatives to cruel and archaic animal tests. Well, the good folks at the Kalamazoo Gazette just did a nice story about CeeTox and the award. Check it out here.

What CeeTox does is so great because many chemical-testing methods still involve pumping substances into animals' stomachs and lungs and dripping chemicals into animals' eyes or onto their raw, shaved skin. CeeTox, by contrast, uses in-vitro (test tube) toxicity screening to test drugs, chemicals, cosmetics, and consumer products. This enables research and development organizations to assess the toxicity of chemicals using pioneering and humane cell-based technology.

Besides being kind to animals, these modern, non-animal tests are cheaper, faster, and more accurate. What's not to like? Well, unfortunately, the wheels of progress grind slowly at the EPA, which lags far behind European authorities in validating modern test methods. But thanks to the work of CeeTox and other companies like it, it's becoming obvious that animal testing is long overdue for the old heave-ho.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

Last fall, PETA announced a partnership with Helium.com, a site that promotes the open exchange of ideas—something we're all for.

Now we're taking it to a new level. Announcing—drum roll please—the PETA Citizen Journalism Award! Each month, we'll name a title. All you have to do is write an article based on that title. If we think yours makes the best case, not only will you win a customized award plus a $50 gift certificate that you can use to snag swag from the PETA catalog but we'll also feature your article right here on The PETA Files. That's a pretty big deal, right? (Please say yes—those of us who post here have such fragile egos!)

To give you a head start, this month's title is "Would you eat animal-stem-cell–grown 'clean meat' to protect animals and the environment?" If you don't quite get what that's about, be sure to read about our $1 million challenge first. If you need more information to help you write your article, there's a ton of useful, fascinating stuff on GoVeg.com.

-Jeff Mackey

One of our most popular anti-fur slogans here at PETA is “Fur is worn by beautiful animals and ugly people”. And we’ve got some great ads to back it up. But the pictures that have been circulating of Aretha Franklin at the Grammy awards last week don’t even really need the tagline to drive that point home. She looks like a walrus in a cat costume. Except, like, nowhere near as cute as that sounds.

Here’s the note that PETA VP Dan Mathews sent to Aretha, who got all in a tizzy yesterday about the fact that Beyonce called Tina Turner “the Queen” and not her.

Dear Aretha-

Music lovers may think of you as a "queen," but to animal lovers, you are a court jester. I'm sorry, Aretha, but your furs make you look like a clown. Why not shed the old-fashioned look that adds pounds to your frame and detracts from your beautiful voice? Won't you donate your furs to the poor as "queen of compassion," Mariah Carey, did? You'll get a tax credit for the donation, and we at PETA will all sing your praises.

Dan Mathews
VP, PETA

Ron Jeremy has been, um, a really big supporter of PETA's work to help cats and dogs for a long time, and this Friday he took some time out of what I can only imagine was a ridiculously busy night at the Adult Entertainment Awards in Las Vegas to unveil his "Too Much Sex Can Be a Bad Thing" ad, aimed at reducing cat and dog overpopulation by promoting spaying and neutering.

Here are a few pics from the event, followed by Ron's awesome PSA for us. Admittedly, this may not be the first time that Ron Jeremy has posed naked for the cameras, but it's a hell of an ad nonetheless. Oh yeah, and the shirt he's wearing in these pics is priceless ...

According to its website, the Telly Awards “ . . . is the premiere award honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions” so we are thrilled to have won three “Tellies” this year.

Each of the following spots took the bronze in the Public Service category:

Country music icon Loretta Lynn donated her classic song “I Wanna Be Free” for this PSA reminding everyone that "Life on a chain is no life at all."

John McEnroe—winner of three Wimbledon singles victories and four U.S. Open singles championships—offered his famous voice to push spaying and neutering in a humorous play on his famous temper.

The third winner takes a decidedly more somber tack. This ad is shot from the point of view of a dog stranded in flood waters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and pleads “Have a plan. Save your pet."

A big shout out goes to PETA’s Communications and A/V departments for making these, and the rest of our PSAs, happen. Congrats guys.