Symbols, Metaphors & Drama

PETA utilises symbols, metaphors and drama on their site to bring their message across to it's users.

Pictures of celebrities are used to suggest to site users that if celebrities are supporting PETA, then they should too.

Images of animals that are abused are shown on the site to build awareness of real-world animal cruelty. By tugging at the user’s sense of humanity, PETA hopes that the user will be prompted to become involved in fighting for animal rights.

Images of ‘cute’ animals are used to appeal to animal lovers, and encourage them to get involved in the prevention of animal cruelty.

The recycled symbol, shown in the following image, is used to appeal to people’s environmental conscience, and to suggest that meat consumption is not an environmentally friendly process. It promotes vegetarianism as being a ‘Green’ choice.

Here, PETA has taken the opportunity of using the Canadian winter Olympics to globally shame the Canadian government’s permitted annual seal slaughters. The Olympic symbols have been altered – blood drips from the blood coloured (red) heading in an endeavour to make a visually impacting connection between the slaughter and the Canadian permission for it to occur.

PETA have altered the branding of two international fast food chains (McDonald & KFC) that actively abuse the rights of chickens used to make some of their food products. This is a great way to bring awareness to users of the animal cruelty inflicted by these fast food giants in the hope that people will no longer purchase their products.

The heart icon (bunny ears) is used in the following campaign link/button which globally symbolises 'love' which is another way that PETA uses symbols to tug at people’s heart strings to motivate them to support their organisation and animal rights.