This week, SeaWorld launched a nationwide ad campaign to set the record straight on a veritable tidal wave of misinformation specifically put forth by the animal right activist community led by PETA. The campaign includes a new interactive website – AskSeaWorld.com.
The campaign was previewed last month by SeaWorld Board Chairman and interim CEO David D’Alessandro on a conference call with market analysts, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel.
From the Orlando Sentinel:
The campaign will focus on those in the middle, a group that D’Alessandro said “wants to know our side of the story.”
“This is not a hit-and-run, as we say in the marketing world, where you can just advertise for a month and hope it goes away,” D’Alessandro said. “This is changing mind-sets and making sure mind-sets stay changed, recognizing that the opposition is not going to stand still as we do this.”
SeaWorld has been on the receiving end of attacks from activist for some time. Misinformation tactics and propaganda – from PETA and other radical groups – like Blackfish have tarnished the SeaWorld brand.
Now they are fighting back.
From SeaWorld’s press release:
There’s been a lot of misinformation and even lies spread about SeaWorld, and we recognize that it has caused some people to have questions about the welfare of killer whales in human care,” said David D’Alessandro, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer of SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. “This long-term campaign will address those questions head on. We want to provide the facts, so people can make up their own minds on this important issue.”
SeaWorld veterinarians, researchers and other members of the company’s team of 1,500 animal care experts are featured in the ads. In their words and reflecting on their experiences, they will explain how the company cares for its killer whales, while also refuting the claims of animal rights activists.
In one of AskSeaWorld.com’s first videos, SeaWorld veterinarians directly refutes PETA’s misinformation.
In addition to print marketing, the new campaign features a strong online component. AskSeaWorld.com allows visitors to ask questions and interact with SeaWorld. As D’Alessandro stated he wants folks to know their side of the story.
SeaWorldCares.com gives folks an opportunity to learn about the park’s rescue and rehabilitation efforts – the ongoing sea lion rescues in California, manatee rehabilitation in Florida and Texas, and others of the more than 24,000 rescues the park has completed.
We’re glad to see SeaWorld putting the truth out there and pushing back against the activist’s misinformation.
The truth needs to be celebrated and there is an amazing story here to be told.