Well this is awkward. Katy Perry – who these days seems to stumble into controversy merely by the act of breathing – has drawn the ire of Australian animal activists in her latest series of ads for Myer, forcing the department store to pull the offending content.
You’ve probably seen the ads popping up all over your newsfeed (well, till now, anyway). Perry, draped in purple, sits atop giant letters spelling ‘Myer’, tells Aussie fans to enter to win tickets to her ‘Witness‘ tour Down Under, which Myer just so happens to be sponsoring.
At the end, she tells her dog Nugget to “go get your puppy passport” and “let’s go chase some koalas”, which has angered animal activists across the country. (Dogs chasing koalas is kind of a big deal, and by that we mean loads of ’em end up in hospital and like 80% of those attacked end up dead.)
Gold Coast wildlife vet Claire Madden told the Courier Mail she was “sickened” by the ads.
“This is just absolute ignorance from Perry and Myer, and inappropriate on so many levels” she said.
“Perry is a role model to so many young people, and this just destroys all the good work we do to try to encourage people not to let their dogs come into contact with koalas.”
The ads also drew condemnation online.
Heard the radio ad & wasn’t impressed by the koala chasing bit……@katyperry and @myer
— Sandra BkZ (@purpleblacks) July 4, 2017
Please tell Katy Perry that her puppy dog can’t chase Koala’s
— Karen McDonald (@Karen_Cascade) July 3, 2017
Myer has now made steps to pull the offending ads, with a spokesperson telling PEDESTRIAN.TV:
“We are aware of comments in relation to Katy Perry’s Witness: The Tour advertisement and a particular reference made to koalas. We are currently removing the material which references koalas.”
Anyway – here’s what the ads look like WITHOUT the cheeky reference to koala murder.
We’re bringing @katyperry‘s Witness tour down under! Learn more: https://t.co/5Oc9iCTilM #WitnessKatyPerryatMyer pic.twitter.com/JvDHIlPJwo
— MYER (@myer) July 2, 2017
Photo: Myer / Twitter.
