Finally figured out what it is that bothers me about all those Telus Mobility ads with the little animals running around in white "non-environments."
While I'm sure an argument could be made to the effect that "showcasing the animal outside of it's natural habitat allows people to appreciate it's stunning colour and natural design to the fullest," I can't help but wonder if any of the advertising people who came up with this concept fully realize the utter meaninglessness of an animal outside of it's natural habitat.
After all, an arctic bird does not flit about the globe, prospering and multiplying wherever it feels like it. It belongs to the place that it lives. Taking the animal out of it's natural context and presenting it as a seemingly autonomous character is like taking a still-beating heart out of a person's chest and proclaiming it "alive." It may very well be "alive," but devoid of it's connections to the body, devoid of the purpose it once served, it is no longer a heart.
The same with divorcing an animal from it's environment. In some ways the ads make more sense as portraits of mankinds current view of itself in regards to it's environment, rather than portraits of individual animal species.
"Hey!" you say. "Lighten up! They are ads for cell phones!"