BP RUN ADS "TO MAKE THIS RIGHT"

BP ran ads in New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the Washington Post according to AdAge.com. Their tagline, "We will get it done. We will make this right" hardly provides a warm and fuzzy feeling about the worst U.S. environmental disaster in history. Everyone knows oil is still spewing from their pipeline and after over a month they have been unsuccessful at capping what seems like a never ending crude oil flow. Placing the new ad with the 2004 versions I posted last month add to the irony of their meaninglessness.

BP will most likely never recover from this catastrophe, which should have been prevented to begin with. Now it seems obvious that there aren't other oil companies that have a contingency plan for the problem either. If they did, they would come forward as a PR hero to fix the problem. It's quite discouraging that the public was told that oil rigs were safe because nothing had ever happened before. Beyond that, not having a plan for how to deal with a huge environmental blow like this is unconscionable. The best we have is a "unified command established to manage response operations" at Deepwater Horizon Response. Stay up-to-date on the latest news.

Live feeds from various remote vehicles (BP site)

Photos

US Coast Guard Photos

BEYOND OIL: BP's OLD AD CAMPAIGN REVISITED

In light of the catastrophe with British Petroleum's off shore drilling rig, and the terrible environmental issues that have been caused because of it I decided to search for an old campaign that BP ran in 2004. What stuck in my mind the most about those ads is how much BP professed to be so environmentally responsible. The print ad campaign was created by NY ad agency Ogilvy & Mather. It's just too ironic, and certainly worth remembering. I hope beyond darkness that there's light—responsibility too.

Here's the text from the "Beyond Oil" commercial:

Beyond darkness there is light.

Beyond a thorn there is a rose.

Beyond practice there is perfection.

Beyond fear; courage.

Beyond 10 seconds; nine.

Beyond danger; a thrill.

Beyond power; responsibility.

Beyond patience; Fulfillment.

Beyond crisis; a solution.

Disease; a cure.

Beyond pain; joy.

Effort; reward.

Beyond winter; summer.

Beyond darkness there is light.

Beyond petroleum; BP.

For BP, I think it's certainly time for them to think outside the barrel—and hurry it up.

BUCKETS FOR THE CURE CAMPAIGN

What were they thinking? There's plenty of data that supports the fact that diet plays a significant role in preventing cancer. So how did the fundraising team at Susan G. Komen decide that a partnership with KFC was a good fit? A KFC press release states, "KFC is joining the fight against breast cancer with a national “Buckets for the Cure™” campaign aimed at educating more women about breast health, generating support for the cause and attempting to make the single largest donation in the history of Susan G. Komen for the Cure." According to bucketsforthecure.com, KFC is contributing 50 cents for each "PINK" bucket sold and their goal is $8.5 million. To date they have raised over $3 million, but only have until May 9th to reach their goal.





Susan G. Komen has long been a recognized and respected brand, but they have led the organization into an ethics quagmire. Unfortunately, by adding KFC to their "Million Dollar Council Elite" the message to women is that funding is more important than women's health.