In a second Amarillo federal lawsuit based on Texas' agricultural slander law, a group of emu breeders has sued American Honda Motor Co. over a commercial that pokes fun at emus, among other things. The commercial depicts a man taking his Honda from one unusual job interview to another. The advertisement placed emu in a false light by depicting it as a scam and a meat whose properties were those of pork. Emus yield lean red meat.
Pork is a white meat.
Art Garner, spokesman for California-based American Honda, said Wednesday that the company had yet to be served. In fact, we got several letters and calls from emu farmers who appreciated the visibility they received. The commercial for the Honda Civic ran nationally last winter and spring. Last year, a Texas cattle feeder sued Oprah Winfrey after an anti-meat activist on her show implied that a brain disease was a threat to American beef eaters. Since then, more than a dozen states have passed laws against falsely disparaging products.