PETA and Pokemon

http://features.peta.org/pokemon-black-and-white-parody/

As some of you may already know. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, have decided to use Pokemon as the means to gain awareness. It is called Pokemon: Black and Blue, Gotta Free 'Em All. The game that is posted on their site opens up as follows:

As battling Pokemon grew in popularity, generations of children were growing up believing that Pokemon exist for no other reasons than to be used and abused by humans... Children learned about dominance instead of compassion. While Pokemon faced the worst abuses, children also started bullying each other... until one Pokemon decided he'd had enough...

Cue  a battered and bandaged Pikachu battling some chick that has a bottle in one hand and a bloody bat in the other. Pikachu has attacks like thunder shock and quick attack, but he also has the ability to protest and give a group hug. While his opponent, Cheren, can use shock collars, tail docking, and discipline with a bat. When Cheren is defeated, (yes I did play the game) her personal Pokemon Tepig is released and travels with you. And guess what?! A nurse gives you a chest to unlock... and what happens when it's unlocked? You get a "bonus" video... like some kind of reward... to watch... too bad the video is a reel of animals in cages, and being mistreated. It is very uncomfortable to watch.

Now what does this have to do with Public Relations? It is a form of campaigning. Public Relations is not JUST about saving face for a company, it can also work to promote the company or organization. The release of the Pokemon parody is both wonderful and terrible. It is wonderful because it brings in a HUGE audience, but it is terrible because they are taking a globally loved game and show and inadvertently making it seem like it is actually bad for the kids who grew up playing it. Personally, I like the idea of the game, the fact that it gives lots of information in support if the company, but slandering a world-wide media giant that has given countless kids education and entertainment for years for you own gain is distasteful in my opinion. But I am assuming that PETA did get all of the legal rights from Pokemon to use their trademark so there is nothing to be done about it. In the end, Pokemon is introduced to an audience it did not have, and PETA was introduced to an audience is did not have. Whether to publicity is good or bad for either  is still to be determined in the future.

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