Monsanto recruits the horticulturist of the San Diego Zoo to pitch its popular herbicide.
Published: May 29, 1997
ROUNDUP, the world's most popular brand of weed killer, began a campaign last month with the gardener of the country's most popular zoo, the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, as its spokesman.
In the commercials, Cary Sharp, the zoo's horticulturist, describes his use of Roundup, a product of the Monsanto Company of St. Louis, at work and at home.
In one of two television spots created by the Los Angeles office of BBDO West, Mr. Sharp says: ''The sun brings life. People come to the park to see animals, not weeds.'' As he talks, the camera pans across lush landscapes of exotic plants and animals. ''Pulling weeds is a waste of time,'' he says. ''We use Roundup. Roundup kills the whole weed, roots included.'' He ends the spot with the tag line ''Roundup. No roots. No weeds. No problem.''
The campaign by the agency, a division of Omnicom Group, began April 28 and has a budget of $14 million. Two 30-second television commercials are running in 48 local markets as well as on national broadcast and cable networks; there are radio commercials as well.
Roundup holds a 12 percent market share of the $14 billion worldwide herbicide market, and in 1996 accounted for at least 40 percent of the profits for Monsanto, the chemical and life sciences giant, said Donald D. Carson, a chemical analyst at J. P. Morgan in New York. By showing Mr. Sharp and filming at the 1,925-acre San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, which, according to the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, together have the highest annual attendance in the country, Monsanto sought to show that gardening professionals consider Roundup safe and effective.
But among environmentalists, Roundup has both fans and foes. Some groups, including the Audubon Society and the Charles Darwin Institute in the Galapagos Islands, which works to protect endangered species, have publicly said they trust it. Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency considers it safe when used in accordance with label instructions, Al Heier, a spokesman for the agency, said.
But some environmental advocates, including Greenpeace and the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, which focuses on hazardous pesticides, contend that studies have shown Roundup could cause health problems in animals, including pneumonia in humans.
''By using a horticulturist, the ad could be deceiving,'' said Paul Clarke, a genetic-engineering campaigner for Greenpeace U.S., a division of Greenpeace International. The organization is concerned that in addition to killing weeds, Roundup harms other life forms, he said, adding, ''It implies a false sense of security.''
Monsanto responds that the damage these groups cited was caused by levels of Roundup many times, sometimes thousands of times, higher than the amount that would be used by following label directions.
Mr. Sharp's role illustrates a relationship Monsanto is fostering with zoos. In a program called the ''Roundup for Species Survival'' tour, representatives of the company, led by Joan Embery, a member of the Zoological Society of San Diego, are promoting Roundup at zoos throughout the country. Last year, they visited 12 zoos, including the Philadelphia zoo after its primate house was destroyed in a fire, and they are scheduled for 12 more this year. In each city, the company donates a percentage of Roundup sales to the support of endangered species and to the local zoo.
''The program gives exposure to the zoos, and dollars to the endangered species program,'' Ms. Embery said, adding that zoos today not only exhibit animals, but also help preserve their species.
''Zoos have taken on more and more, from education to long-term conservation programs,'' she said. ''We're looking to the corporate world to support our work.''
Some critics worry, however, that this alliance may compromise the zoos' integrity.
''These zoos are looking for auxiliary income,'' said Mike McGrath, the editor of Organic Gardening magazine. ''They want partnerships, and they may not care that these are chemical companies. Or maybe they believe what the chemical companies say.''
This is not the first time a Roundup spot has riled advocates for the environment. Last year, Dennis C. Vacco, the Attorney General of New York, ordered the company to pull ads that said Roundup was ''safer than table salt'' and ''practically nontoxic'' to mammals, birds and fish. The company withdrew the spots, but also said that the phrase in question was permissible under E.P.A. guidelines.
Aside from safety concerns, some are struck by the seeming irony of an herbicide being advertised by the keeper of a floral refuge.
''I find it astonishing that the ad begins, 'The sun brings life,' '' said Mr. McGrath of Organic Gardening. ''Because the first thing they do is go out and kill that life.''
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