We see people caged, restrained and immobilised under harsh spotlights. They're subjected to sensory deprivation, gassed; showered with chemicals, injected with viruses and put under the knife.
But the disturbing video below isn't a trailer for a new Saw movie. It's the boldest and most challenging advert yet from the animal rights organisation PETA (also see our roundup of World Cup 2026 adverts).
PETA's new campaign End Animal Abuse aims to help viewers grasp what happens behind closed laboratory doors. Instead of relying on graphic depictions of animals, the 60-second film aims to create a direct emotional connection between viewer and animals subjected to testing by confronting audiences with human suffering instead.
It closes with a shot of a trembling woman on a metal gurney as a blanket is draped over her shoulders, before the text appears: “Relax, these are professional actors. But in reality, animals get treated like this every day”.
With stark monochromatic imagery and infrared imaging techniques set to Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem in D Minor, the aim was to create an aesthetic that blends elements of arthouse cinema and experimental documentary.
The ad also aims to co-opt the visual language of fashion, with headgear that blurs the line between Maison Margiela-esque haute couture and instruments of torture. The result is disorientating and unsettling to watch.
The ad was conceived and directed by Favio Vinson through Flavour on the Rocks and co-produced by Papaya Films.
Favio Vinson, Director at Papaya said: "We engaged in making this campaign for the challenge of tackling an important issue through a fresh approach. We committed to a very simple concept that would make the viewer directly relate to animals through heightened visual means. This way, the viewer wouldn’t be able to look away, despite the implied horror of the subject."
