KCI wins silver pooper-scooper

By Carolyn Szczepanski in Follow That Story, Picket Lines

Tue., Feb. 24 2009 @ 8:05AM

The animal activists didn't get much love from the locals when their cave(wo)men came to town to protest Armani Exchange earlier this month. But last week PETA gave a Kansas City institution second place in its annual recognition of TV ads.

So congratulations, KCI: You've been shitboxed!

A year ago this week, PETA staged a protest outside the entrance to the Kansas City International Airport with one activist dressed up in a monkey costume and crammed inside a cage. Their animal rights' organization was hoping to bring shame on the airport for using a chimp in a FlyKCI commercial.

PETA claims primates used in commercials are often ripped from their mothers at young ages and mistreated while being trained for such commercial endeavors. Using the young chimp to illustrate KCI's amenities was enough to earn KCI the "Silver Scoop" -- second place nationally -- in PETA's 2008 Litterbox Awards, announced last week.

"KCI's marketing department should be grounded for coming up with an ad that harms and traumatizes endangered animals," PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. "There is deep emotional trauma for mother and baby when these intelligent, social beings are separated for crass, commercial purposes."

First place went to Levi Strauss and Co. for a viral video that also included a young primate. The bronze was awarded to Citigroup for a commercial that used an elephant. Though David Perle, a spokesperson for PETA, said the airport won't be getting any poop-scooping hardware, they should be receiving a certificate in the mail soon.

Officials at KCI didn't seem amused. Joe McBride, spokesman for the Kansas City Aviation Department, said the airport had no comment on the dubious honor.