Shark Week 2013: Discovery’s ‘Snuffy the Seal’ spot is horrifying, but effective

If you are at all interested in Shark Week, you are probably not going to be offended at all by the latest promo that was released by Discovery for the annual event. Some will probably think that this “Snuffy the Seal” ad is thoroughly entertaining, but there are also going to be people who will have their jaws on the floor over seeing it. (Then again, this is a network that also airs “Deadliest Catch,” and also has a number of nature documentaries all about animal behavior … and this is a part of nature.)

This promo aired during the highly-touted “SkyWire” event on Sunday night, and the theme of it is ultimately pretty simple: A seal that gets completely mauled by a shark. This animal in question is Snuffy the Seal, who is being released to the water after a long and incredible journey. As a number of excited onlookers watched on as a shark came out of the water and ate him.

Regardless of what some seal-lovers out there may think, the reality is that people watching the show live loved this spot, and completely ate it up. “Snuffy the Seal” became a trending topic on Twitter mere minutes after this episode aired, and it remained there for some time in certain regions. “Shark Week” begins in August, and you have to believe that the ratings are going to be through the roof as always. This is always one of the network’s most-hyped, and also most-popular, events out of the entire year.

What do you think about this ad: Effective, or just downright cruel? If you want to check out some more highlights of Wallenda’s epic journey across the wire, all you have to do is head on over to the link here.

Photo: Discovery