PETA gives The Olsen Twins a new wardrobe

Have you ever dreamed of dressing up the Olsen twins to your heart’s desire? If so, your dream may come true. Although, the items you use to dress the tiny moguls may not be what is expected. A new dress-up game involving a “mauled mink messenger bag,” a “hanged hamster headband” and an “electrocuted ermine evening dress,” are just some of the things visitors to PETA’s, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, new site can fool around with when dressing “Hairy-Kate and Trashley Trollsen.”

“Meet the Trollsen Twins” is a new campaign run by peta2, PETA’s youth division. The campaign’s web site, which can be found at peta2.com, criticizes Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for continuing to wear fur and sell fur in their clothing line The Row, renamed “Death Row,” by site creators.

Aside from having a dress up game for the twins the site also includes a well-crafted Full House spoof episode titled “Full House of Horrors.” In it, Jack Shepherd, author of PETA’s blog The PETA Files, stars as “Futureman” who comes to tell the Tanner family about Michelle’s fashion crimes in the future.

“It’s not just that these little Michelles are going to end up as a pair of fashion casualties who hide their shrunken bodies in entire families of dead animals,” says Futureman in the video. “The worst part is what happens to the animals who die for the Olsens’ sick, sick fur habit.”The reworked episode gets the Tanner family to kick Michelle out of the house for her future crimes as an animal killer. But, these are only two features of PETA’s newest web site.

“We create these sort of controversial, sort of funny campaigns,” said Dan Shannon, assistant director for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA. “People get to learn a serious lesson while poking fun at celebrities.”

The Olsen twins were chosen as targets for this campaign because they wear fur frequently; and according to Shannon, they seem to make a statement in doing so. PETA members have written to the twins many times to no avail since they have never received a response from the sisters.

In comparison, PETA members wrote to Eva Mendes after seeing her out wearing fur and received a letter sharing her horrified, apologetic, reaction. Mendes even went on to participate in PETA’s “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign.

“[The site has] gotten almost half a million hits so far so it’s been really successful for us,” said Shannon.

PETA tends to have ardent opposition as well as support, but Shannon said there is no concern about lawsuits. “Everything we’re saying on the web site is true,” he said. “People make their own decisions.”

PETA members are often criticized for using shock value and sensationalism to get the public’s attention. When trying to find responses form the fashion labels criticized in the website, Blast only received “no response” comments in return, though.

“The issues are shocking in and of themselves,” said Shannon. “All you have to do is tell people the truth.”

The peta2 web site also features links allowing visitors to write letters to the twins, asking them to stop wearing fur. A pre-written letter is available, but PETA encourages visitors to write their own letters, for maximum impact and influence.

Another link leads visitors to a page for peta2’s latest clothing designs, which vary from sweatshirts to messenger bags. In addition to a cartoon design of the Trollsen Twins, there are designs that read “Fur is Dead” and “Mean People Wear Fur.”

PETA maintains a list of fur-free retailers available on their Internet sites. Some include The Gap, Eddie Bauer and H&M. Polo Ralph Lauren, Betsey Johnson and Calvin Klein are some of the latest designers who have decided not to use fur in their collections too. Consumers can use this list to make informed decisions about the products they purchase and ask other fashion labels to stop using fur.

“Every purchase that you make sends a message,” said Shannon. “Most people deep down care about animals and don’t want to see them suffer.”

What do you think of this? Do you agree with PETA specifically targeting children with these kinds of advertisements? Do you agree with Futureman? Sound off in our comments section!