An advertising campaign by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) encouraging people to drink beer instead of milk has generated controversy across the country and at Iowa State.

The “Milk Sucks … Got Beer?” ads, which claim that dairy farmers treat cows inhumanely and that beer is healthier than milk, were pulled March 16 after Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) expressed outrage over them, according to the Foundation for Biomedical Research.

Linda Ciccone, adviser for the ISU chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and ISU substance abuse program coordinator, said she thought the PETA campaign “was in poor taste.”

“[PETA members] have their points to get across, and they are valid and important points,” she said, “but the method they chose diminished the importance of what they were trying to say.”

The advertisements also did not sit well with animal rights activists at Iowa State.

Stephanie Black, member of the ISU Humane Society, said PETA’s tactics are not effective.

“I think that is almost derogatory toward their own organization,” she said. “It doesn’t make people feel good about the animal-rights cause.”

Thomas Decarlo, associate professor of marketing, said he thought the “Got Beer?” ads would turn out to be harmful for PETA in the long run.

“It’s some sort of extreme approach to changing attitudes, but as I’ve seen in research, that usually backfires,” he said.

Black said as a member of the Humane Society, she agrees with PETA’s cause and some of the things it has done in the past for animal rights, but she said this time PETA is “going down the wrong path.”

“If they stay away from positive campaigning, it’s going to be detrimental to them,” she said. “Most of their negative campaigning in the past has not been successful.”

Shelley Coldiron, adviser for the ISU Humane Society, agreed with Decarlo and Black, saying the ads could harm PETA and the cause it champions.

“I know they have good intentions, but their tactics tend to put people off instead of informing them,” she said.

The Foundation for Biomedical Research said in addition to not apologizing after shelving the “Got Beer?” ads, PETA has begun a new campaign modeled after photos of missing children that have appeared for nearly 20 years on milk cartons. In the ads, what would be a picture of a missing child is replaced with one of a calf.

The new campaign has also hit a nerve with some people. Coldiron said she thought it would be demeaning to parents with missing children.

“Doing something like that is really a slap in the face for people who have lost children,” she said.