Ad of the Week: Dodge With or Without Monkey

By August 19, 2010Ad of the week

Dodge invisible monkey Okay, a Dodge tent event does not usually make many ad of the week lists, I'm sure. I know, I've done a few in my time. This one had a monkey in an Elvis suit pushing the lever on a detonator to blow up a bunch of confetti. That is worthy in of itself, because, hey, who doesn't like a good monkey in an Elvis suit gag?  Well, apparently PETA doesn't. They sited abuses in training primates for the entertainment business and threatened Dodge if they didn't stop using the spot.

However, when someone at Dodge buckled and agreed to remove the monkey, they simply digitally removed the monkey. So, there's a second spot in which an empty Elvis suit walks up to the lever and the announcer (Dexter's Michael C. Hall) refers to him as an "invisible monkey."

Both the commercials are embedded below. Take a look. Did PETA overreact? Did Dodge overreact or is it a thumb to the nose at PETA? Is there a need to protect monkeys from smarmy directors and fat laden craft service tables? Or is some poor monkey actor now out the residual checks it might have gotten if Dodge used his likeness again? I want to know what you think.

Dodge – Tent Event with Monkey

Dodge – Tent Event without Monkey

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Mike less me Mike McClure, Exec Creative Director & Social Media Guy

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