Costa Coffee, the Whitbread-owned coffee shop chain, is under pressure to pull its first television advertising campaign amid criticism that its use of monkeys encourages people to buy them as pets.
The row threatens to become a major headache for Costa Coffee, owned by leisure giant Whitbread, as it seeks to up the ante in a marketing battle with its arch-rival Starbucks.
Costa's coffee is certified by the Rainforest Alliance, but the relationship between the company and the conservation body is under strain after five animal welfare groups questioned whether Costa was in breach of the alliance's code of conduct. The code states that certified partners must respect wildlife.
The television ad, which aired for the first time on Friday and features a voiceover by actor Bill Nighy, shows 16 primates from five species climbing over coffee machines and breaking crockery. It asks whether an infinite amount of monkeys can ever make the perfect cup, but within hours of its first screening it had fallen foul of animal welfare groups.
"With the release of this new advert, we feel the need to reiterate our long-held concerns on the use of wild animals in entertainment," said Rachel Hevesi of Wild Futures, which runs a sanctuary for victims of the primate pet trade. "While they are used in this way their welfare is severely compromised, and it has a knock-on effect in the trade in primates as pets," Hevesi added.
The Observer, p29
