The CareerBuilder chimps, who starred in CareerBuilder's top-rated Super Bowl commercials in 2005 and 2006, were rehired last year and are featured yet again in CareerBuilder's 2012 Super Bowl Commercial.
Back in 2006, when the chimps became Super Bowl stars, there were complaints from animal rights activitists and, this time around, PETA is campaigning to have CareerBuilder "stop the monkey business."
Last year, ERE.net reported CareerBuilder spokeswoman Jennifer Grasz as saying "The company supports the fair and humane treatment of all animals." The American Humane Association was "on set during the entire filming to ensure the chimpanzees were treated with respect. This was very important to us."
Dice and Monster have both pledged never to use chimps in commercials. What do you think? Should CareerBuilder use chimps in commericals or is it animal cruelty? Or, don't you care one way or the other?
Sure, why not.
Absolutely not. I’m an advertising copywriter who used a chimp in a commercial about five years ago. I can tell you firsthand, these poor chimps are abused by their trainers. American Humane is always on set when an animal is a part of a shoot. That’s the law. So telling the public that they are there to make sure the chimps are well treated is simply a PR move. I know the folks at American Humane. They’re not bad people, but their standards aren’t strict enough when it comes to protecting chimps on sets. The chimp we hired was being yanked around and yelled at the entire time. The trainers would violently poke him with a prodder and pull him by his leash. The chimp was afraid the entire time and was looking for an escape route. I’ll never use a live primate in an ad again.
Absolutely not.
Nor were the chimps “re-hired.” Four original CareerBuilder chimps were rescued by a sanctuary, Center for Great Apes, and are living the rest of their 40 or 50 years without any support whatsoever from CareerBuilder. (Can you say, “you’re fired!”) Private citizens, with voluntary contributions, are supporting the chimps that CareerBuilder dumped.
Chimpanzees only last 4 or 5 years in show biz, and then they grow too strong and independent to be handled, even with the abusive training described by another commenter. CareerBuilder has been informed, over and over again, about the harm they are doing, but they scorn the concerns of every animal lover who understands what is being done to the chimps exploited by their ads.