PETA Christmas ad divides viewers as friendly cow meets ‘heartbreaking’ end

A moving Christmas advert for an animal charity encourages people to take up veganism by portraying the friendship between a young musician and a cow – but the clip has left viewers divided.

In the film released by PETA a young girl is shown playing a trumpet to a curious dairy cow who wonders over to listen by the gate of its field. The friendship between the bovine and youngster appears to grow as the girl is pictured visiting in different outfits before eventually she turns up with Christmas tinsel in her hair.

But in a heartbreaking twist when the girl plays her trumpet this time her cow pal, who we discover is named Kiwi, is nowhere to be seen.

The fate of the farm animal appears to be revealed as we are given a cow’s eye view of it being loaded onto a truck by a farmer in preparation to head to the slaughterhouse.

The less-than-festive feature has divided opinion on the internet with some declaring they are still “happy to eat roast beef” and others conceding they are now “giving up meat”.

The advert closes with the echoes of a haunting moo from Kiwi as the farmer, who is whistling the tune the girl was playing on her trumpet, closes the gate on the trailer.

On Peta UK’s Facebook page watchers of Kiwi’s demise shared mixed reviews. One person seemed to take on board the message the animal charity was trying to convey, by declaring: “How sad and horrible. Give up eating meat.”

But another seemed immune to the heart-breaking message, confidently stating they “prefer turkey at Christmas but quite happy to have roast beef”, while another cheekily quipped “Thanks to this ad, I remembered to buy some beef. Thank you”.

The advert has also received a mixed reaction on PETA’s YouTube channel. One person wrote: “Wow! If that doesn’t make people think then I don’t know what will! Very good ad.”

Another added: “The music transferring to the farmer whistling was traumatic. I hope this airs on tv.”

But others were less susceptible to the message, with someone writing: “We are looking forward to our roast beef on Christmas Day.”

A message at the end of the video reads: “Everyone deserves a Merry Christmas. Please leave animals off your plate.”

A caption on PETA’s Youtube channel also adds: “PETA’s 2024 Christmas advert is here, and this cow’s story will break your heart.”

The charity also asks viewers to choose “kindness this Christmas” followed by a vegan emoji symbol. The video was filmed with creative agency Atomic London and filmed at Hillside Animal Sanctuary.

PETA Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen told the Mail Online: “Children have a natural empathy for animals, but many young people, and adults too, may not think about the fact that their holiday roast came from playful, loving cows, who are easily befriended. PETA encourages everyone to show goodwill to by choosing a delicious vegan feast this Christmas and beyond.”