Ignore the fact that Heather Mills is insane. Focus on the text in these Viva ads.
I know that these are British, and there are different rules and styles in British and American grammar, but both of these don’t look quite right to me.
I’m not saying that these are outright wrong; I’m just saying that something doesn’t seem to be quite right.
Take a look.
What do you think?
The Grammar Vandal 
Is the point of those that we should kill all livestock? I’m confused.
Well, the first ad is troubling only because the phrase “meat and dairy animals” makes me think of finished meat products and animals which produce milk, when in fact the intended meaning is animals that are made into meat and from whom dairy products come are the culprits.
The second ad is a total train wreck — particularly the second “sentence” of body copy. It starts with a fragmentary phrase and then omits a necessary comma before “because.” Next, I would make livestock singular, though I understand the pluralization of the word might be a function of the ad’s British origin. Either way, it’s a laughable sentence, because it implies cows, sheep and their farmyard brethren are at this moment bombing us all into oblivion.
Of course, it’s hard to be objecive and leave my omnivore bias out of the discussion.
I wish I could find an advertiser to spend millions on nonsense like this. My sales would be through the roof!
The second ad makes it seem like people eat meat and dairy animals BECAUSE they are destroying the planet.
I, for one, am proud to be a member of PETA — People for the Eating of Tasty Animals, that is. 😉
Even without the grammatical errors, the second ad is completely tasteless, given Ms. Mills’ disability.
Renée
The Empty Nest Blog
Sharing laughter, experiences, and resources for fellow parents of college students.
Renee: as a disabled person, I find that reference to be the only clever thing about the ad. 🙂
But how can I ignore the fact that Heather Mills is insane, when that has so much to do with what is weird about the ad? It contributes so much. I’ll bet they knew that when they put her picture on it.
And what everyone else said, too.
I don’t understand what they are attempting to convey in these advertisements. Are they saying that meat and dairy animals should be abolished? Cuz that would be a swell solution for the environment… I’m assuming their message is pro-organic and anti meat farming, but it’s not clear at all. It’s not the livestock that are destroying the earth – it’s the morons in charge of them who are throwing off the entire balance of the ecosystem. Regarding the comment/joke about PETA — I hope that you at least buy organic meat when you’re eating those tasty animals.
I used to love cooking when I was in college, but I have no time these days, so the only meat I ever buy is the occasional rotisserie chicken or package of prosciutto.
I became hooked on organic produce after my semester in Florence, and I now try to buy it whenever I can. The food there is AMAZING! But I’ll try to remember, anon, and buy organic meat if I ever do buy anything raw.
The use of “greenhouses,” plural, in the first ad really makes the hair on my arms prickle.
The only thing that can be excused do to Britishness is the plural treatment of ‘livestock’. That issue is grey wherever you are from but us Brits tend to sit on the ‘plural’ side of the fence.
That doesn’t detract from the fact that the copyrighter would benefit from a swift kick in the nads.
I’m agree with Dr. Zoom’s opinion that the pun about the leg is the best thing about the two ads.