It may be a new year, but its an old message. Anyone travelling to the Capital South station on the Washington Metro could hardly fail to notice the latest advertising blitz by the oil industry’s attack dogs the American Petroleum Institute (API). The ad campaign is called “I’m One” and includes images of “real people” … Read More
Public Relations
Shell’s Nigerian PR Strategy Exposed
To mark the 15th Anniversary of the execution of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, we are exposing the public relations tactics that Shell employed to counter criticism of its operations in the country. The evidence is contained in documents collected for the landmark trial last year of Wiwa versus Shell, but they were never made public … Read More
Chevron Must Think We Are Stupid
Sometimes the best laid plans go awry. Oil giant Chevron’s multi-million ad campaign, entitled “We agree” has back-fired badly. What’s worse it has given its critics a real opportunity to spoof the company’s highly misleading adverts.. And boy are they having fun and games. The the spoof campaign is beginning to go viral.
What a FAArce
One of the more unsavoury trends in politics over the last couple of decades has been the sprouting of corporate front groups that pervert the political process. Often the give-away is in the title: so if something says it is an Alliance or made up of Citizens, you actually know it is nothing of the … Read More
API Scaremongers Over Jobs
The good old American Petroleum Institute is up to its old tricks again, scaremongering over jobs. The API held “citizen” rallies in seven cities in early September to discuss the effect of energy legislation on jobs, arguing that many jobs were under threat. To coincide with the lobbying effort, two weeks ago, the API put … Read More
Greenwashing Mordor
So Mordor is getting a makeover. Big-time. There is a concerted, multi-faceted public relations campaign going on to greenwash the tar sands. Dirty black is trying to become virgin white, or so that’s what they want. According to three Albertan cabinet ministers, the tar sands are a “Canadian jewel” that should be celebrated and exploited. … Read More
Nigeria: Independent Figures Dispute UN’s Findings
If a tobacco company gave the World Health Organisation a $10 million grant to examine the health effects of smoking, health campaigners would be outraged. They would also treat the results with great suspicion. And the fact that Shell gave UNEP $10 million dollars to examine the cause of oil spills in Ogoni means that … Read More
“Probably the most notorious branding crisis in memory”
First Greenpeace ran a competition to help BP redesign its logo, and now the Washington Post is running a competition for the public to suggest slogans to help BP repair its battered image. The competition is running until tomorrow noon, if anyone wants to have a go. So far the entries are pretty predictable: BP=Best … Read More
75 Per Cent of Oil Lobbyists Worked for Government
Talking to people about the Deepwater Horizon, often a response has been “how can something like that happen in the US.” Exactly that question is being forensically picked over by lawyers and Congressional investigators and the answers are increasingly looking unpalatable. But one thing for sure it could not happen without the raw power of … Read More
“A major serial environmental criminal” who hides the evidence
We all know that criminals like to cover their tracks. And BP is no different. On Saturday, the Anchorage Daily News – a paper that has battled BP in Alaska for a number of years a recently retired federal attorney who spent years dogging BP Exploration (Alaska). Jeanne Pascal, who worked 18 years as a … Read More