In response to the "the Verizon Ad" post by Meredith Harper >While simply watching the ad as ferret owners, we may appreciate the >humor of the advertisement, that doesn't mean we can ignore the further >implications. Sure, it's an entertaining concept without the context of >an ignorant population. Guess what? Uniformed people should not be caretakers of any animal of which they know nothing. So if the Verizon commercial keeps someone from acquiring a ferret because they think ferrets are mean, then I say "GREAT!" Apparently, they didn't research the animal before considering it, so they shouldn't acquire one to begin with. That's probably one less ferret that will end up in a shelter because some uninformed twit of the ignorant population acquired a ferret and didn't have clue #1 about it. >I can't speak for everybody, but I know the reason it upset me so much >is because we have all fought so hard to change the image of the ferret. >I would say that 75% of the time I mention I have a ferret, the >uninformed person asks "Don't they bite?" or says "I heard they're mean" >or "They're filthy and stinky". (Well, I can't completely argue with >stinky!) Do you educate these people or let them walk away continuing to be uninformed? Anyone whom I've encountered who knew nothing of ferrets was willing to listen to me talk about them, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm not saying that everyone with whom I speak who has a poor opinion of ferrets will change their opinion, because some won't. I've just not run across any of them. >These are the people who are seeing this ad. These are also the >citizens of New York City and California who may someday get to vote >on the legalization of ferrets. Oh PULEEEEEZE!!! Again, it's JUST a COMMERCIAL, NOT a DOCUMENTARY!!! Do you believe every commercial you see on tv? If people are basing their vote on a commercial, they aren't intelligent enough to be voting in the first place. >I would love to be able to take my ferrets for a walk in the park >someday and have NOBODY pull their kids aside and say "Don't go near >them, they bite". But that's not going to happen anytime soon. And ads >like the one from Verizon are only going to perpetuate the bad public >image of our fuzzy friends. Hrm, a visit to the park looks like another opportunity to educate the public regarding ferrets. I steer clear of any animal I don't know. Most animals that have mouths have the ability to bite. I hope the majority of people are more intelligent than you give them credit, and they realize that the Verizon ad is just a commercial. >I think it's fair to say that most of us don't object to the ad by >itself, only to the effect it will have on the ignorant public. If >Verizon showed a similar ad with dogs or cats, it would be less of a big >deal because most people know that dogs and cats aren't vicious and mean. >They don't have the same bad image to fight. Really? I've read on a ferret board that Verizon changed the ad to feature a ferret rather than leave the ad featuring a cat with the tag line, "Cat got your tongue?" The post also stated they changed it because they feared the backlash from the organized cat community. Do I know this first hand? Nope, I've read a post on a ferret board by someone who claims to have been told by a Verizon employee that this is so. If everyone knows that cats are such docile creatures and never attack, then Verizon would have had nothing to worry about and could have aired the commercial using the cat. BUT cats do attack, dogs do attack and ferrets have bitten people on the face. I have a ferret who used to bite my face and ears 'til she drew blood. If I were the ferret in that commercial, I'd have gone for the jugular on that guy for antagonizing me. But that's just me. ;) >For those people who don't have a problem with the ad, don't read >the emails pertaining to it, and you certainly don't have to write >a complaint letter. What and let all the disgruntles over the ad have all the fun? No way. I don't mind being the devil's advocate here because IT'S JUST A COMMERCIAL!!! Verizon will get no letter of complaint from me. As a matter of fact, I just might write them and tell that I think their ad is hysterical - because I think all the hubbub about the commercial is ridiculous? No, because I think the ad is hysterical. I laughed until I cried. >But please try and understand the rest of us wanting to prevent Verizon >from undoing what it has taken us decades to do for the image of the >domestic ferret. One commercial featuring a ferret that regards phone service is going to undo decades of work? That's a pretty powerful commercial. I suppose it could happen, but really, how likely is that? The whole situation is getting out of hand, what with all the talk of boycotting and canceling of service over a freaking commercial. This reminds me of the boycott of Disney a few years back. That worked well. [Posted in FML issue 3875]