action alerts

CDW Mac Warehouse
May 15, 2007

CDW Mac Warehouse is currently airing a television advertisement that exploits a chimpanzee ‘actor.’

Please contact Mark Gambill, Vice President of Marketing at CDW Mac Warehouse, and express your disappointment in the company's choice to exploit a chimpanzee. Tell him that using a chimpanzee for advertising is both creatively tired and inherently cruel.

Mark Gambill
CDW Corporation
1 CDW Way
300 North Milwaukee Avenue
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
markgam@cdw.com

Sample Letter to CDW Mac Warehouse

Dear Mr. Gambill and CDW Corporation,

I am writing to voice my strong disappointment that CDW Mac Warehouse is airing a commercial that features a chimpanzee. While you may not have known this, the behind-the-scenes story on great ape 'actors' is very dark. Training methods are physically and psychologically brutal, living conditions are impoverished, and 'retirement' at age 6 or 7 usually means being cast off to roadside zoos or other substandard facilities.

In addition to the welfare concerns surrounding their use in entertainment, chimpanzees are an endangered species, and using them in TV ads seriously hampers conservation efforts. Please think of a more creative and less exploitive way to promote your products in the future. I look forward to hearing from you on this urgent matter.

Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]