PETA's latest ad features an Orca grabbing the leg of a SeaWorld CEO and dragging him under. The caption reads "He will let you go, if you let him go."
“The ad depicts an actual event that happened in 2006 at the San Diego Park where a trainer was dragged under water by his leg,” said PETA representative Bryan Wilson.
A similar incident happened in 2010 in Orlando, when trainer Dawn Brancheau was dragged underwater by an orca and killed.
But PETA's ad will not be seen by visitors to Orlando International Airport. The airport turned down the $10,000 ad, which PETA wanted to place near the SeaWorld store.
A spokesman for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority said this June the agency changed its advertising policy, getting rid of any ads that promote social issues -- from politics to religion, and also any ads they found disparaging. That was two months before PETA submitted this ad.
The same PETA ad was successfully placed in the San Diego Airport and became a hot topic in the aviation industry. So this rejection doesn’t sit well with PETA.
“The Orlando International Airport has had numerous non-profit ads for years, and so it seems very odd that they suddenly change their view towards the policies that they have," Wilson said.
The Orlando International Airport has also had to remove other ads that are no longer in line with their policy and offer partial refunds. Some 95,000 people come through the airport each day.
“We have carefully crafted a policy, so that we observe everybody’s rights," said Phil Brown with GOAA. "By taking the position that we are not going to accept any social content, any disparagement, we’re treating everybody the same.”
PETA said they are exploring their legal options and will continue to search for other advertising venues. SeaWorld representatives said they had no role in the airport’s decision.