‘Tasteless’ Frito-Lay ‘Tofu-urkey’ Ad Prompts PETA Criticism

Chip Company Urged to Pull Image Mocking Turkeys’ Suffering

For Immediate Release:
November 29, 2017

Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382

In response to a new spoof advertisement posted recently on the Ruffles Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts promoting a non-existent “Tofu-urkey Limited Time Never” flavor of chips, PETA sent a letter today urging the parent company, PepsiCo, to pull the idiotic ad—which is garnering backlash from customers—and replace it with a compassionate one that shows respect for all living, feeling beings.

In the letter, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that the ad mocks compassion for animals and makes light of the suffering of millions of young turkeys raised for food, who are hung by their feet from metal shackles and dragged through an electrified bath before their throats are slit.

“Frito-Lay’s cheap dig at compassion has customers outraged, and it’s not getting a pardon from PETA, either,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “The future is vegan, and the company should pull this offensive ad and replace it with a compassionate one that shows respect for all living, feeling beings.”

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to Mr. Vivek Sankaran, president and COO of Frito-Lay North America, follows.

Mr. Vivek Sankaran

President and COO, Frito-Lay North American

November 29, 2017

Dear Mr. Sankaran,

I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 6.5 million members and supporters worldwide to urge you to pull the (shall we say tasteless) spoof advertisement for non-existent “tofu-urkey”–flavored Ruffles potato chips with the caption “There’s a reason tofu-urkeys are never pardoned,” which appears on your Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages.

The ad mocks compassion for animals and makes light of the suffering of millions of turkeys in the meat industry. There’s nothing funny about the treatment of most turkeys raised for food, who spend their whole lives confined to crowded, filthy sheds. At the slaughterhouse, birds are hung by their feet from shackles and dragged through an electrified bath that can cause them to experience full-body tremors before their throats are slit.

It seems that your marketing director is unaware of this, but given the immense suffering that occurs in the meat and dairy industries, it’s no surprise that vegan eating has skyrocketed by 600 percent in the past three years alone and that vegan labelling is forecast to be one of the top 10 food trends of 2018.

Fan backlash—evidenced by the hundreds of posts on your social media accounts—is clearly on the side of the turkeys. As you might know, former Ruffles consumers are boycotting your brand over this marketing misstep. Now, you have an opportunity to do the right thing by pulling the ad immediately and replacing it with a compassionate one that shows respect for all living, feeling beings.

Kind regards,

Tracy Reiman

Executive Vice President

PETA