5.11.07 Cute as Knut
Leo DiCaprio knows the rules: “Never work with children, never work with animals, never work with someone better looking than you.” But on the cover of this month’s Vanity Fair, Leo commits triple-career-suicide by appearing side by side with Knut, who is an animal, a bona-fide child star and perhaps the most handsome male on the planet.
Once again Knut has stolen the show. A resident of the Berlin zoo, Knut, who is a five-month-old polar bear cub, is quickly becoming the most famous celebrity in the world. Each month, tens of thousands of visitors are drawn by his fluffy white cuteness, including Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, who recently skipped out on the European Union’s 50th anniversary party just for a chance to see Knut. (Italians are such suckers for beauty.) Folks can’t get enough Knut, and marketers are lining up for a piece of the action. There’s a Universal Music CD, “Knut the Little Cuddle Bear.” The Tribeca Film Festival just signed Knut as their worldwide icon. There’s T-shirts, a 32-page coffee table book, a bunch of websites, and film and musical projects in the works. It’s all so adorable.
But not everyone finds this so cute. Several animal rights groups are distressed that a captive animal, raised by humans, is becoming the icon of the green movement. The Berlin Zoo has responded to this criticism by hiring German ad agency Scholz & Friends, who have created the campaign, “Respect Habitats. Knut”. It’s intended to be a sort of Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval to be licensed only to companies committed to environmental preservation. Soon you may see Knut staring out from your cereal box or on your kid’s soccer ball. Knut free-range chicken. Rain forest Knut nuts. Hemp suits by Knut. Oh, the possibilities.
The future looks bright for Knut, at least for the next few months. By the end of summer, that little fur-ball will weigh over 100 pounds. Soon he’ll stand almost 10 feet tall and weigh a half-ton, with razor sharp claws and 4-inch-long teeth. Will the world still love him then? Or will he become the next Gary Coleman or Jerry Mathers? We’ll see.
Until then, green marketing is all the rage, and nothing is as cute as Knut.