MAM
TV Networks ban PETA’s Thanksgiving TVC
MUMBAI: TV Networks including NBC, ABC, Fox, Nickelodeon, ABC Family and other cable networks have banned a new television commercial (TVC) made by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in the USA.
The commercial revolves around a little girl who says grace before her family‘s thanksgiving dinner and earnestly describes in her prayer how turkeys suffer on filthy factory farms.
The networks refused to allow PETA to buy airtime for the 30-second spot, even though they take advertising money from companies that carefully hide animals‘ true living conditions on factory farms and the cruelty of animal‘s deaths in slaughterhouses, says PETA in a statement.
The Learning Channel felt that the overall tone of the spot was very disturbing for our family viewers. NBC too said that this commercial did not meet its Universal standards.
On the other hand, the Discovery Kids channel commented, “Discovery, which as a whole, is very conservative and legal, feels that this spot would be too disturbing and traumatic for children to view.”
PETA had designed the ad to run during family programmes, including the Macy‘s Thanksgiving Day Parade, so that young viewers could decide for themselves whether or not to eat turkey this year.
Commented PETA EVP Tracy Reiman, “Young people have a natural affinity for all animals, including the gentle turkey, whom Benjamin Franklin wanted to make our national bird. They deserve to know why birds raised for the Thanksgiving table have nothing to be thankful for. Rather than contributing to factory-farming cruelty, many kids are now asking their parents for vegan holiday meals.”
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
