PETA Tells Dallas Company to Stop Monkeying Around

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Dunno if this is Cody, but it is one of the chimps Data Drive Thru is using in its ad campaign that PETA's opposing.

Last month, Dallas-based Data Drive Thru announced that it was going to debut an ad at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas featuring two chimpanzees using some kind of networking software (or hardware -- whatever) called The Tornado. The debut's expected to take place a week from yesterday -- but not if the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have anything to say about it. See, PETA is unhappy about the ad, specifically its use of a 6-year-old chimp named Cody, one of the spot's stars. And how come?

Well, says the PETA press release, "Cody is one of three chimpanzees who were surrendered to sanctuaries on December 9, 2006, in order to settle a civil lawsuit filed in federal court. The suit alleges that the chimpanzees' owner, Sid Yost, punched them and kicked them in the head, which are violations of the Endangered Species Act and California cruelty-to-animals statutes."

Yeah, that sounds kinda awful. Not exactly the best way to sell your product. Perhaps Data Drive Thru might wanna rethink that. Unfair Park called Clint Hughes, the company's VP of marketing, who said he hadn't seen the release, but he was aware of the PETA opposition to the ad. He said CEO Paul Andrus was taking calls concerning PETA's, uh, concerns. Andrus wasn't available. We will update when he calls back. --Robert Wilonsky