When PR Meets Crazytown: Michael Vick - PETA's New Spokesperson (No.. Hell hasn't frozen over.)

[QueenOfCalifornia]

http://adage.com/article?article_id=136403

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) --Michael Vick is in talks to become the new spokesman for PETA.

Yes, you read that correctly. The disgraced one-time NFL superstar serving prison time for funding an illegal dog-fighting ring is primed to do public-service ads for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals upon his release later this month. According to three people with knowledge of the matter, the proposed endorsement is part of a comprehensive PR scheme aimed at rehabilitating the quarterback's image and gaining him re-admission to the league that banned him from playing.

"I'm familiar with ," said Dan Shannon, director of youth outreach and campaigns for PETA. "We have been in discussions with Michael Vick, with his management team, about the possibility of him putting out a public-service announcement with PETA when he's out of jail. We want him to discourage people from taking part in dog-fighting. I can do it until I'm blue in the face and it might not convince anybody. Michael Vick sure can. He can say, 'Look, I did it, I was wrong, and it ruined my career.'"
Other image-changing moves
That's not all Mr. Vick will do to try to rehabilitate his image. People with knowledge of his comeback plan said it will also include mea culpa TV interviews, PSAs and charitable donations to other animal-rights organizations (or perhaps the formation of his own foundation), along with the possibility of working with PETA.

The article is fairly long - It is a real bizzarro business match which looks like Vick will do just about anything to reinvent himself so he can again play football.

[Political Heretic]

1. PETA is, and has always been, batshit crazy.

There are so many wonderful animal rights organizations out there that aren't fucking insane. :)

[turmeric]

61. Care to elaborate on such a over-the-top pronouncement?

(And don't point to the "controversial" ads they create, which are merely for the sake of bringing attention to their worthy cause.)

[Political Heretic]

64. You ask me to elaborate then dictate the terms of what I can elaborate on?

I'll pass. They pretty much speak for themselves anyway.

[Terran]

65. here...

http://www.petakillsanimals.com/petaKillsAnimals.cfm

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/06/23/EDG11DC9BK1.DTL

http://www.consumerfreedom.net/news_detail.cfm/headline/2833

[flvegan]

66. You might want to rethink your corporate whore, right wing sources.

[Terran]

71. heh, you're funny!

SFGate is a corporate right-wing source? Wat a maroon! Just google "PETA kills animals" and you will find hundreds of hits from hundreds of sources, dear.

[superduperfarleft]

74. All links from CCF or animalrights.net.

Keep digging, though. Or just check your sources before you look like a fool on the interwebs.

[Terran]

80. You don't feel that SFGate is a reliable source? n/t

[superduperfarleft]

81. Not when they're acting as a mouthpiece for the CCF.

Quit being obtuse.

[Terran]

83. Since when is reporting facts

acting as someone else's mouthpiece? Did SFGate tell lies about PETA?

[superduperfarleft]

86. They quoted the CCF throughout the entire article.

Jesus Christ...did you even read your own links?

[Terran]

88. This is NOT a quote

"...last week (in 2005), two PETA employees were charged with 31 felony counts of animal cruelty each, after authorities found them dumping the dead bodies of 18 animals they had just picked up from a North Carolina animal shelter into a Dumpster. According to the Associated Press, 13 more dead animals were found in a van registered to PETA."

This a reporting of verifiable fact. Do you claim it didn't happen?

[flvegan]

90. SFGate is using Consumer Freedom as a resource, hon.

[Terran]

93. Did this happen or not?

"...last week (in 2005), two PETA employees were charged with 31 felony counts of animal cruelty each, after authorities found them dumping the dead bodies of 18 animals they had just picked up from a North Carolina animal shelter into a Dumpster. According to the Associated Press, 13 more dead animals were found in a van registered to PETA."

I'd imagine the source is some North Carolina PD or court.

[flvegan]

94. Yes, they were charged.

Later, they were acquitted.

[superduperfarleft]

69. Hahahahaha....

Oh wait, you're serious? :rofl:

[Terran]

75. dude

there are hundreds of hits on google about this, many from mainstream newspapers. I fail to see what you find so incredible.

[superduperfarleft]

78. CCF is a right-wing corporate front group.

http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom

They maintain those sites, except for the SF gate obviously, which just plagiarized their crap as opposed to attempting some legitimate journalism.

Christ, you people with your CCF links are like arguing with the Ron Paul supporters.

[Terran]

82. So...

"...last week (in 2005), two PETA employees were charged with 31 felony counts of animal cruelty each, after authorities found them dumping the dead bodies of 18 animals they had just picked up from a North Carolina animal shelter into a Dumpster. According to the Associated Press, 13 more dead animals were found in a van registered to PETA."

So, what? You're saying this never happened? SFGate is a legitimate (and liberal) news outlet.

[Name removed]

85. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

87. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[superduperfarleft]

Of course that happened.

I don't see anyone denying it. Two PETA employees were charged and they were ultimately fined, if I recall correctly.

But for the record, PETA is not a shelter, never claimed to be a shelter, disavowed relationships with those two employees, and they do not have a giant freezer full of dead animals in their office building in downtown Norfolk, and they do not have a direct line into the big bad ZOMG ANIMAL LIBERATION FRONT!!!111one

And you're either being willfully obtuse or you're a genuinely special person, though, if you can't see why someone would object to you basing your ill-informed opinions on something the CCF says.

Did you even click the sourcewatch link? (Probably not, since you didn't even seem to read or comprehend the SF gate link you yourself posted)

[Terran]

92. Calm down. And thanks for admitting that PETA employees

acted in a bat-shit crazy and inhumane manner, as the original poster in this subthread claimed. Whether any of that other shit is true or not, I don't really care. The FACTS are enough to prejudice anyone against PETA. No need to quote CCF, which I never did despite your bizarre insistance that I did.

[superduperfarleft]

97. You posted CCF links, not me.

And you could care less about animals if they're not cute.

This whole thing is nothing more than a giant ad hominem attack. If you don't like PETA because you like eating meat, say that, but don't feign concern for the cute animals while ignoring the ones that are killed to feed you. You don't dislike PETA because of the way they treat shelter animals, you hate PETA because they make you uncomfortable when it comes to your food.

[Ignis]

99. Did someone hack your account?

Because if you didn't create post #65, I'd check your password security.

[Bankhead_ATL]

2. I really hope vick could play in the NFL next year.....

I think Vick had learned his lession....Big time

[konnichi wa]

3. I'd prefer he played in the prison league...for 50 more years.

...

[Bankhead_ATL]

6. Stop it , He has been humbled by this mistake...give him a chance

[QueenOfCalifornia]

9. "mistake"

er... it was not a mistake. He didn't buy shoes that pinched his heels - he was responsible for mutilating mans best friend. He also found Jesus while in jail... like that is a big shocker.

[kevinds13]

28. And you suppose to know the validity of his beliefs?

:eyes:

[Occam Bandage]

10. He did not make a mistake. He acted deliberately and continuously.

A 'mistake' is not the same thing as a 'crime.'

[konnichi wa]

12. Why are you apoligizing for a subhuman piece of filth?

???

[Bankhead_ATL]

14. Yes i said mistake....You know when i was in high school....

I almost beat a dude to death just because he looked at me the wrong way. They could have thrown me in jail and that would have been the end of it. But A kind hearted judge give me another chance by putting me in a program and now after 18 years I am a very humbled guy with a nice family.......All because some one give me a second chance.

[Occam Bandage]

16. And what you did was done in a minute as a high schooler.

What Vick did was done as an adult, took deliberate, careful planning, and was continuously done over the course of months.

[Bankhead_ATL]

18. A second chance is a second chance....

[LanternWaste]

31. Shame he never gave those pups a second chance...

Shame he never gave those pups a second chance... 'cause, you know, "a second chance is a second chance..."

Anyway, humility is part and parcel of human decency, not of judicial sentencing. Telling me that he has been humbled is irrelevant to his crimes.

[kevinds13]

24. So I suppose the law plays no role here?

He did his time and is trying to make amends and you want what, for him to rot in jail forever?

Goodness, I thought we liberals believed in rehabilitation. Apparently thats only offered to people who kill people, not animals...

[Hugabear]

35. He is not "rotting in jail forever"

Rehabilitation is one thing. But for him to be able to go back to doing what he was doing before, making MILLIONS of dollars like nothing happened - that's what a lot of us have a problem with.

[kevinds13]

38. So we'll let him out of jail and then...

prevent him from getting a job in his chosen career? We'll choose his next job for him?

[Hugabear]

Welcome to the real world

There are PLENTY of ex-convicts who can no longer go back to their "chosen" career after they've served their sentence. What makes Michael Vick so much more special than any of them? At least he's in a much better situation than your typical ex-con.

[Bankhead_ATL]

45. I wonder about you

[kevinds13]

46. That's part of the real world? Choosing ex-cons new jobs?

Thats such a bogus argument. Sure, places don't hire felons and shit, but thats based on the companies hiring policy, not on your self-righteous belief that this particular ex-con doesn't deserve a second chance.

If an NFL team wants him, thats their deal. I wouldn't want my Chiefs to take him, but its not up to me.

Also, more power to Vick for repenting and trying to make amends and prevent others from participating in dog fighting through the use of PSA's and a commercial campaign.

[Hugabear]

49. Would a CPA convicted of fraud be allowed to return to his job?

I never said anything about "choosing them new jobs". Merely that it's a fact of life for many ex-cons, that they cannot go back to their line of work. It's not that the government says they can't, it's because their former employer doesn't want them back.

Obviously if an NFL team wants him, that's their call. But whichever team takes him is going to have to deal with potential negative feedback from their fans.

[kevinds13]

52. And thats exactly what I said...

It's up to the organization itself, not individual self-righteous outrages.

Plus I'm not sure that he's in better shape than any other ex-con, considering he is completely bankrupt and his name will forever be connected to this rather than football (although that's for a pretty good reason).

[Hugabear]

58. Organizations have to consider their customers' opinions

It's something every NFL team has to consider - do the potential rewards outweigh the risks? They absolutely have to consider "individual self-righteous outrage" - who do you think buys those expensive season tickets? But don't worry, I'm sure that some desperate NFL team will take a chance on him.

But even IF he didn't get signed by an NFL team, I'm sure that there are plenty of reality TV shows that would love to get ahold of him. Heck, he could probably have his pick of celebrity reality shows. That's where I think he's in a much better position than any other ex-con, he still has his celebrity factor going for him.

[superduperfarleft]

50. How is he in a better position?

He's bankrupt. His name will forever be scorned by cuddlytarians across the country. He'll be lucky to get a job anywhere, much less his "chosen" career.

I'm not suggesting he be immediately awarded a multimillion-dollar contract, but please explain to me how he's better off.

[Hugabear]

51. Didn't realize that he was bankrupt.

But still, with his celebrity factor, he's in a much better position to parlay that into financial gain than an anonymous ex-convict who finds himself trying to start a new life from scratch. There will always be somebody - for example some reality TV show producer - who is willing to throw some money at him.

[Occam Bandage]

54. He can do what he likes. So can I.

And I can choose not to give him my money by watching him play ball.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

57. Premeditated murder of a human or an animal should be a life sentence

Except in very extenuating circumstances.

You can't rehabilitate a sociopath.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

25. Did you buy

a huge piece of backwoods property, hire a bunch of heartless fools and open up an illegal gambling establishment which forced animals to tear each other to shreds? Did you casually watch as the females had their teeth pulled so they could be forced to breed? Did you pick up a dog and kill it by swinging it by its hind feet into the hard earth? Nope... Your crime was a moment in time you wish you could take back. It was not carried out over several years. Saying Michael Vick made a mistake is like saying Bernie Madoff didn't intend on conning all those people out of their money.

Nope - You may have made a stupid mistake -

I am making a judgement call on what Michael Vick did - the evidence is on the internet for anyone who wants to read it.

[bullwinkle428]

89. C'mon...Madoff just made a few accounting errors on his spreadsheet!

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy:




:P

[Missy Vixen]

19. Are you his cousin?

"Humbled"? Hardly. The NFL is the place he could scare up the biggest amount of cash with minimal effort, so that's where he wants to go.

Did you read the descriptions of what he did to the dogs in his "care"? Not only should he be banned from the NFL for life, he should never be allowed around any animal without supervision.

:mad:

[Bankhead_ATL]

21. "Humbled"? yes he is and....

No he not my cousin...Why do you think we are cousin..becuase we are black??????

[QueenOfCalifornia]

27. We can't see you

I have no idea what you look like.

You act like you know Vick personally. That was what the poster probably meant.

[Bankhead_ATL]

32. Some of you fellow dem act like freepers sometimes

[Missy Vixen]

98. No, I think you're his cousin

because you're the only one who's convinced he's "humbled". Well, his cousin, or someone that works for the PR firm who's "rehabilitating" his image. :woohoo:

[Hugabear]

26. Don't suppose there might be any bias there, what with the "ATL" in your name?

What he did was despicable. His only "mistake" was getting caught, otherwise he'd still be doing it. He's scrambling to save his career.

Sorry, but I have a very hard time feeling sympathy for ANYBODY who makes as much money as he did, and fucks up like that.

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

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[Bankhead_ATL]

40. see that is what i am talking about...

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

30. You do not accidentally electrocute, hang and torment dogs

[QueenOfCalifornia]

42. It was

a "mistake."

:eyes:

[ecstatic]

56. Me too. He did his time, meanwhile Palin and many others

are still free to abuse and kill animals on a whim. 21 horses die and it's Oops...oh well.. GMAB!

[superduperfarleft]

60. Dogs are cuter. n/t

[Stevenmarc]

4. Oh good yet another reason to consider PETA irrelevant.

[seabeyond]

13. yep. n/t

[damntexdem]

5. No frozen Hades, here. He's the perfect spokesperson for PETA.

He's a great exemplar of PETA attitudes.

[sixmile]

7. Maybe the ads will feature him on the rape stands

and fighting other men to the death while being prodded by dogs.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

15. What a mental image

you paint.... Ouch!

Would it be done on black velvet with the dogs smoking cigars?

[sixmile]

17. No. A in filthy, bloody dirt pit

Just to illustrate what a dogfight is really like. Use Vick.

There's much PETA hate on this thread. Do I smell freeptards?

[superduperfarleft]

20. Are you kidding? It's not exactly an unpopular position here to hate PETA.

It's even considered acceptable to post anti-PETA screeds from corporate front groups and washed-up Libertarian magicians. Not sure why you'd find this so surprising.

[Bankhead_ATL]

23. I don't like them they get toooo.......

crazy sometimes for my taste..And I like to eat meat but i am still a dem

[superduperfarleft]

41. I'm a radical vegan, nice to meet you.

I think what Vick did was despicable, but the hypocrisy of people who act like he's the devil incarnate while picking dead animals out of their teeth doesn't escape me. Never mind the fact a big scary black man makes good press. that When a good ol' boy around my town was recently arrested for dogfighting, I certainly didn't see the 24 hour coverage and screams for his head that you saw with Vick.

I don't believe that this is anything more than Vick trying rehabilitate his public image, (and PETA doing what they always do, which is make all of us look ridiculous by taking a legitimate complaint and ruining the delivery by dressing up in chicken suits or something) but if teaming up with PETA will produce a good PSA against dog-fighting, I'm all for it.

[Bankhead_ATL]

44. Thank you for your fair comment you are ok with me

[sixmile]

34. Guess I thought wrong

Makes you wonder about 'evolution', though

An un-evolved being would think it wrong to champion the ethical treatment of innocent sentient beings.

[Ignis]

53. "anti-PETA screeds from corporate front groups"

Oh yes, DUers love them some petakillsanimals.com--despite the fact that anything from this source would otherwise be considered verboten here.

So it goes. :shrug:

[superduperfarleft]

55. And, those two magicians, dontchuknow?

They're turrrific! I think they're names are Siegfried and Roy or something...

[seabeyond]

33. peta lacks integrity. people dont like it. peta has earned their reputation

i use to be all for peta. now i am not. they say any publicity is good publicity. peta adhers to that policy, regardless what group it is offensive to. this is the result. i dont believe any publicity is good publicity. they dont get to do whatever offensive act they want for attention without suffering the repercussions. that is what you are seeing here.

peta did it to themselves.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

36. PETA

is not popular here.

No freepers.

[Canuckistanian]

8. What does PETA do again?

With all these crazy PR stunts, I forget what their basic message is. Or do they have one?

[Occam Bandage]

11. They're an ongoing experiment in attention-seeking behavior. nt

[Canuckistanian]

62. Ah, thanks.

They're only moderately good at it, but good luck to them.

:rofl:

[crimsonblue]

22. good for Michael.

He seems to be showing genuine remorse for what he did, and he deserves a chance to become a productive member of society again. Also, bully to PETA for believing that Michael has shown remorse and believes he is genuine in his desire to change. Upon completion of his jail sentence and house-arrest, Michael will have paid his debt to society.

[ColbertWatcher]

70. Agreed. It will be interesting to see how his former fans view this. n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

37. It's a damn shame what's happened to Michael Vick.

Another step down for him.

[Bankhead_ATL]

43. here here

[Hugabear]

68. "It's a damn shame" - I hope you were being sarcastic

He systematically brutalized defenseless animals over a period of years, just for the sake of entertainment. There was nothing accidental about what he did. This wasn't a case of him not knowing what was going on. How exactly is it a "damn shame" what happened to him?

[superduperfarleft]

72. I understand if you're outraged...

But in the midst of your sputtering, you're getting chewed-up hamburger all over me.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

96. I was being facetious, yes.

But only just a little.

[sixmile]

47. Consider the source of this 'news'

AdAge.com
Just saying.

[sniffa]

48. He may be a better spokesperson for PETA than Cynthia McKinney is

I never even hear from her.

[flvegan]

59. ...and the hatred of PETA runneth over.

These threads are always amusing.

PETA will, of course, only do this if Vick is truly remorseful now. PETA (like most of us that actually followed the story) knows that Vick never once apologized for what he did to those dogs.

[Robeson]

79. Did you expect any less?...

...it's as sure a bet as the sun rising in the East.

[flvegan]

91. Nope. Sadly enough.

[datasuspect]

63. there is no such thing as bad publicity

[Maru Kitteh]

67. Screw you Vick. Rot. Become poor. You selfish narcissistic monster.

[mitchum]

73. Wow! PETA may actually know a black man!

never saw that one coming

[superduperfarleft]

76. Okay, now THAT was funny. n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

77. Crayfuck meet crazyfuck

One wants to get attention. One wants to be seen as a reformed do-gooder so he can get back in the NFL.

[LynneSin]

84. Perhaps Michael Vicks is remorseful of what he has done

and wants to make amends to ensure no one else does it.

[MrScorpio]

95. If he's sincere, then perhaps he should be forgiven

However, if it's just a PR ploy designed to put money in his pocket, I'm not impressed.