Vantressa Brown: "Adidas kills for kicks"

Sportswear manufacturing giants Nike and Adidas have recently drawn fire from animal rights groups.

Adidas is targeted for its use of kangaroo skins in high-end cleats, and Nike is generating criticism for its "Battle" ad depicting a pit bull and a rottweiler lunging at one another.

In the early hours of Feb. 20, about 13 protesters from the animal rights groups International Voice for Animals (Viva) and In Defense of Animals assembled outside the Benson Hotel, passing out literature to people who came to hear the president of Adidas America, Ross McMullin, speak at a Business Journal event.

One activist donned a kangaroo costume. Others carried signs that read "Adidas kills for kicks" or passed out fliers urging a boycott over Adidas' use of the marsupial skins.

Activists say the big skins demanded by Adidas and other shoemakers threaten the largest species of kangaroo—the red kangaroo. Targeting the biggest, fittest animals for extinction disrupts natural selection and has the potential to cause extinction, said Lauren Ornelas, Viva's U.S. campaign director, citing Australian scientist Ian Gunn.

In the 1960s, the average age for the red kangaroo in the wild was 12—today it is two, Ornelas said. The animals are killed three times faster than they are reproducing, she added. Also problematic is the manner in which activists say the wild animals are culled—shot during the night with hunters killing joeys—baby kangaroos—or leaving them to die.

Adidas counters that the practice is legal.

"We don't buy products from unauthorized dealers, only when the culling of the population of kangaroos is sanctioned by the government," said Adidas America President Ross McMullin.

Activists argue that the Australian government's licensing process is flawed. To get a license an Australian hunter must read the administration's code of practice and take a shooting test on a still range.

"In the wild it is dark and they are on a moving vehicle. They are given a license, but they are unmonitored," Ornelas said. She also wondered how, in the dark, hunters could avoid shooting Australia's 17 kangaroo species threatened with extinction.

Adidas is the largest purchaser of kangaroo skins in the footwear industry, and it uses the pelts in its Predator-brand cleats.

Although Anne Putz, the Adidas corporate manager in charge of purchasing the skins, did not return calls, an earlier article by Wired Magazine said Adidas uses the skins because they have more flexibility than cowhide. The article said about 6 million of the animals are killed annually.

Nike has also taken heat about its recently launched ad called "The Battle." Created by local advertising firm Wieden + Kennedy, the commercial hawks Nike's newest basketball shoe, the Air Zoom Ultraflight, which retails for $125.

The spot is one minute long, and depicts intense face-offs between basketball players on the courts. Toward the end there is a flash, less than one second, of two leashed dogs lunging and snarling at one another.

"The response has been tremendous," said Sharon Harmon, executive director of the Oregon Humane Society.

The nonprofit has received 20 e-mails and calls about the ad, said Barbara Baugnon, who does marketing and public relations for the agency.

"It's dog fighting. It makes it look cool, and it's wrong," Harmon said. "These folks have tremendous power over what people believe, and with power comes responsibility. I'm sure it wasn't their intent to promote street fighting, but the reality is they are connecting dog fighting with being cool, with wearing Nike."

The grievances the agency has received echo Harmon's concern.

"That ad sucked. The shot of the dogs was unnecessary and served no purpose other than to appeal to the lowest common denominator of Nike's demographic. The young urban males Nike's aiming for should be horrified and disappointed and mostly embarrassed that they're associated with dog fighting," one writer complained.

Nike counters that they meant no harm with the ad.

"Our intent and focus is not to support anything negative. We apologize to anyone that it might offend. We do not condone or support violence or dog fighting," said Celeste Alleyne, Nike spokeswoman.

Alleyne was mum on how many complaints the company has received, and wouldn't comment on whether the segment would be pulled. Wieden & Kennedy referred calls to Nike.

The Oregon Humane Society has sent a letter to both Wieden & Kennedy and Nike protesting the dog scene. The agency is telling those concerned to contact both companies directly.

Many of the Humane Society's complaints have come from the Bay area, Baugnon said. The group Bay area Doglovers Responsible about Pit Bulls has posted a heated article about the ad on its web site. "Ad boys Wieden + Kennedy boast a creative team that 'specialize[s] in understanding cultural trends.' We find it unfortunate that the 'cultural trend' of dog fighting ever found its way in this shameful piece," the web site reads.

Dog fighting is illegal in all 50 states, but some sources say 'street fighting' or impromptu roadside dog fights are on the rise.