http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0430sheep-billboards0430.html
Dutch firm fighting to keep ads on sheep
Toby Sterling Associated Press Apr. 30, 2006 12:00 AM
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A Dutch Internet hotel bookings company says it is doing its best to make the mayor of a small town look sheepish after he threatened a fine of about $60,000 if the company doesn't remove advertisements on livestock in his district.
Hotels.nl began what it thought was a humorous campaign blanketing sheep with its logo along highways near Amsterdam, Leiden, Groningen and The Hague on April 1.
But when Mayor Bert Kuiper in the northern town of Skarsterlan noticed the advertisements on sheep in his district near Groningen, he said they violated a local ordinance against advertising along freeways.
Hotels.nl Chief Executive Miechel Nagel said the company would respond by increasing the number of sheep it uses in Skarsterlan to 60 and changing the statement on their blankets to "Thank You, Mr. Mayor."
"Now it's a freedom of speech issue," Nagel said. He added the local economy also was getting a boost as farmers were being paid about $18 to $25 per sheep per month to wear the advertisements.
"Their value as lamb-kebabs is around 60 euros ($75)," Nagel said.
On April 10, Kuiper threatened the company with a $25,000 fine. When Hotels.nl, with annual sales of $86 million, said it didn't mind paying, Kuiper upped the potential fine if the signs weren't removed by April 24.
"It's very creative and we're absolutely not cranky about this, but it has been our policy for years that we don't want advertisements along our roads," Kuiper was quoted saying by Dutch press agency ANP.
A receptionist for Skarsterlan's city offices said no one would be available to comment until Tuesday.
According to the ANP report, the mayor complained Hotels.nl was undermining the authority of local laws and he had started legal action against the company.
Nagel said Hotels.nl plans to distribute free horse blankets to 700 people in Skarsterlan bearing the company's logo if it loses the case. He estimated that 80 percent of the town would be willing to use the blankets and back the company, rather than the mayor.
The idea of advertising on animals is at least several decades old, though it gained new attention in the dot-com era. Unusual campaigns - such as one by Internet casino Golden Palace to paint 100 cows purple in Florida in the summer of 2005 - can still attract attention.