Clever, clever PETA submitted an ad to the network touting the benefits of vegetarianism, supposedly with the intent of running it during the Superbowl. This in itself was bad faith and dishonest, for there is no way the non-profit organization would or could pay the millions of dollars such an ad would cost. But PETA wasn’t taking any chances that the ad would be accepted: it craeted an intentionally borderline obscene collection of suggestive images showing scantily clothed women engaging in sexually provocative conduct with, yes, vegetables. Models right out of soft-porn videos are shown, among other things, licking a pumpkin, rubbing pelvic regions with the same lucky pumpkin, rubbing asparagus on their breasts, and appearing to have sexual intercourse with a stalk of broccoli. A tagline at the end of the ad reads, "Studies show vegetarians have better sex. Go veg."

Needless to say, the ad made the Superbowl’s infamous Godaddy.com commercials of years past look like “Sesame Street,” and there was no chance that NBC would accept it. NBC suggested cuts, PETA, as was its plan, refused, and then used the rejection, also as planned, to attack NBC for “censorship,” and to rev up media publicity for the banned ad, which can be viewed on the group’s website. Who wouldn’t be curious to see the first pornographic Veggie Tales?

And so we have another example of PETA’s curious definition of ethical conduct. It creates an ad specifically to cause a sensation, then dishonestly tells NBC that it wants to run it during the Superbowl, when in fact it wants the ad to be rejected. When the ad is rejected, PETA runs publishes the (stupidly crude) NBC rejection letter on its site, while issuing indignant protestations designed to get its message carried for free by the news media, and to lure the salacious, the curious, and the vegetable-obsessed to peta.org to see the models and the veggies making whoopee.

Oh, and one more thing: there are no legitimate studies that show “vegetarians have better sex.” Better sex with vegetables, perhaps. The girls in the ad certainly seem to be having a good time. I can’t tell whether it was good for the pumpkin and broccoli too.

Misrepresentation, exploitation, deception, dishonesty, all for the cause. Maybe PETA believes Machiavelli also had better sex.