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Fur leaves a bad taste
You have to respect the balls it takes to advertise your restaurant by saying fur is fucked.
This is exactly what Urban Herbivore, Fressen's little sister, in Kensington Market is doing.
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Not being a vegan, or even anywhere near a vegetarian, this type of advertising is a bit of a turn-off for a couple of reasons. Although it is certainly eye-catching, with phrases like “fur is cruel” and “fur is fucked”, it doesn't exactly encourage the casual or part-time vegetarian from checking out the restaurant As long as food tastes good and honest it doesn't matter if it's vegan, meat-atarian or from another planet. If it's good it's good. But the idea that vegetarians are in it solely for the anti-fur aspect is narrowing your client-base. There are plenty who restrict their diet for any number of political, religious, or health reasons, anti-hunting sentiment being just one. Any foodie with a sense of adventure will eat all food including “vegetarian” but that doesn't mean they're against fur. |
| The other problem with this campaign is there are very few fur-bearing animals eaten by North Americans. There are plenty of leather products made from our primary protein sources but little fur. The main one being rabbit. Beyond that you would be hard put to name another although seal is still popular in many parts of Newfoundland and the Iles de la Madeleine. But for the most part it just doesn't happen. Even some vegetarians may have an issue with these ads. One poster on govegan.net said this: “Has anyone been to Herbivore? I discovered it yesterday for the first time in Kensington, and it looked pretty sweet . . . But then when we were on Queen we saw all these crazy advertisements for going vegan like, ‘If you wear fur people will throw paint on you or stick gum in it. Be Careful. Go Vegan' and ‘Fur is ugly and so are people who wear it. Go Vegan. Herbivore." I was TOTALLY unimpressed by this kind of advertising, especially cos i think it will actually cause people who are omni to not try new things like this restaurant. Does that make sense?” |
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The ad campaign is also problematic because it perpetuates the stereotype that all vegetarians/vegans are animal-rights activists. Again this is simply not true although the odds are probably in favour of a healthy majority being concerned about animal welfare. It also cements the impression that some vegans are just a little bit self-righteous.
An ad campaign promoting sustainable farming would perhaps make more sense, but certainly wouldn't encourage commentary. So maybe the fur angle is just a good hook to get the converted to check the place out.
And maybe the food is great.
