Annoying end-of-model-year dealer closeout ads have swarmed the airwaves, as they do every year around this time.

But Chrysler threw a touch of whimsy into its 30-second array of black cars in front of a tent with confetti, with the voice of Michael C. Hall--better known as the civic-minded serial killer title character of Dexter--intoning flatly, "This event could not be more amazing."

[pause]

"Oh, wait. There's a monkey. I stand corrected." Indeed, there was a monkey in an Evel Knievel suit, pressing a detonator to explode ... well, a very small shower of confetti.

Then People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals got into the act.

The group issued a statement saying, "Most top ad agencies in the country won't even consider producing an ad featuring a great ape these days given the well-documented abuse that young chimpanzees and orangutans suffer in the entertainment industry."

The statement went on in quite some detail, specifying the abuses. It ended by saying, "Dodge isn't going to dodge a bullet on this one. It needs to pull the ad--and we've contacted the company asking it to do just that."

But rather than pulling the ad, Chrysler has simply digitally erased the monkey. Hall now says, in the same monotone, "Oh, wait. There's an invisible monkey. Unbelievable."

Consumerist says, "The first one was just meh, monkey joke. The revision is an act of surreal genius, and a giant finger to PETA pantywringers."

We can't help but agree. What do you think? Leave us your thoughts in the Comments below.

DODGE TENT EVENT COMMERCIAL (with monkey):

DODGE TENT EVENT COMMERCIAL (sans monkey):

[Jalopnik via AgencySpy via Consumerist]