PETA Launches Trio of ‘Mindful Mobster’ Spots for the Super Bowl

Animal rights organisation PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has made its mark on Super Bowl LIX with a trio of mobster-inspired spots advocating for animal rights and fair treatment. 

Mobsters by day, protagonists Frankie and Joey know their way around a crime, as the spots reveal the conquests of their criminal activities – stuffed and bound in the boot of the car, held at gunpoint in the back seat or tied to a chair. But, there’s one thing that Frankie and Joey are even more passionate about than criminality: calling out animal cruelty. 

They’re men with an animal-first conscience, as they stop mid-punishment to dole out mindful wisdom, informing their rookie counterpart Johnny of the criminal nature and activities taking place in the leather and wool industries.  

Writer and creative director Christian Carl commented on the inspiration behind the campaign, "’She was a beautiful, innocent creature! What'd she ever do to you?!’, says Tony Soprano in reference to the death of his racehorse Pie-O-My. This was the inspiration behind our Super Bowl campaign for Peta this year – vicious mobsters with a surprising soft spot for animals.

“The idea was to take that Tony Soprano character trait and lean into it for PETA. Then, take cues from the best of Mobster Cinema like Tarantino. In many ways, the leather and wool industry is like organised crime. They are abusive and exploitative industries. And they work hard to cover up their crimes with statements like ‘Made Responsibly’. There were so many connections, it just felt right to go there.”

It’s all soundtracked by a kinetic rhythm that keeps the energy up between every story beat. “We approached this as a score versus a commercial, as if the viewer was channel surfing and stumbled upon a movie”, says Scott Brittingham, co-founder and EP at music studio Pull. “20 seconds in and you're still confused as to what exactly you're watching... then we hit you with that swagger theme for our ‘Mindful Mobsters’ at the end.”

With a bit of unexpected humour, PETA’s campaign delivers the message that even the toughest enforcers can have a soft spot for animals.