As the price of oil plummets below $50 a barrel, the price of gasoline falls too. The high oil prices and record gas prices of the summer now seem years away. As we fill up our cars, the temptation will be that cheaper motoring will mean more motoring.
But not if the friendly folks from Chevron have their way. They have begun posting helpful tips on how we can all use less energy.
Across America at train stations, at bus stops, and at coffee shops, the company’s ads are trying to convince us that the key to responsible energy policy does not lie with the energy companies or even our politicians but with… you and me.
We can all drive a little less, use a little less energy, we can all do our bit. Chevron’s “Will You Join Us” ad campaign has come up with catchy slogans, in nice hand-written phrases such as “I will leave the car at home more” or “I will take my golf clubs out of the trunk,” or “I will consider buying a hybrid.”
Quite how taking the gold clubs out the car is going to solve climate change is anyone’s guess, but you can log on to Chevron’s designated website http://willyoujoinus.com/ for more complete and utter corporate greenwashing. Passing the responsibility for action from companies to consumers has been a classic PR tactic by the oil industry for years.
But the greenwashing ads have been too much for the League of Conservation Voters who has come up with their own spoof Chevron ads under the banner of “I will point out hypocrisy”.
Our particular favourites are on this blog – the one where Chevron CEO David O’Reilly says “I will spend less than $6,4515,322 to influence politicians next year” and Chevron lobbyist and former Senator Trent Lott says: “I will stop asking taxpayers to hand oil companies billions of dollars on top of what they already pay at the pump”.
If any of you have further funny or catchy slogans we could make into spoof adverts, we would love to hear from you..
