Company makes it almost impossible to miss its oil spill spin
The company formerly known as "Beyond Petroleum" is at it again.
In its latest effort to lasso the messaging on the disaster in the Gulf, BP recently purchased several phrases like "oil spill" on Google and Yahoo search engines so that the first item people see when searching these terms is BP's official Web site.
"Learn more about how BP is helping," reads the text alongside the link to the BP site, positioned at the very top of a Google search page. After clicking on the link, users are drawn into BP's sanitized version of the spill, complete with inspiring images of cleanup workers and men and women looking appropriately concerned about the issue at hand.
According to a spokesperson for the oil giant, BP's motive for purchasing the search terms was completely innocent.
Toby Odone, a BP spokesman, explained to ABC News that "We have bought search terms on search engines like Google to make it easier for people to find out more about our efforts in the Gulf and make it easier for people to find key links to information on filing claims, reporting oil on the beach and signing up to volunteer."
How very thoughtful of BP! Of course, another way to look at this Orwellian attempt at message control is that BP is desperately trying to rebuild the company's oil-stained image by making it more difficult for people to find oil spill news that's actually news rather than just public relations spin.
If this nefarious marketing tactic leaves a bad taste in your mouth, consider calling BP, which on its Web site encourages people to contact the company if they have any ideas on how to help the company during its time of need. Perhaps you could suggest that instead of spending millions of dollars on TV advertising and message control, that money might be better spent elsewhere, like on capping and cleaning up the spill, financially supporting the families whose lives have been destroyed by this disaster and backing stronger regulations so that the same mistakes that caused this spill to happen aren't repeated.
Now that would be helping.
Print this page
Email this page
WHO THOUGHT OF A PLAN B... FOR A DISASTER THIS HORRIFIC? ........
I think that you have to give George Bush the 2nd some credit for this mess. After all, he's an OIL MAN.
It is really very simple:
1. We produce the oil and gas.
2. We get most of your money.
3. We get rid of regulations in the name of freedom.
4. We allow safety regulations to be winked at.
5. You pay taxes.
6. YOU PAY FOR OUR MISTAKES
7. We litigate until hell freezes over with the best lawyers that money can buy...
8. We buy your Congress, or at least enough them to stop any interference.
I feel proud and patriotic because my dad fought in WWII so that BP and big corporations can destroy the environment with impunity. And guess what, my kids and their kids will get to pay for it.
I say arrest the management team at BP and give them orange suits. Send them to Guantanamo.
Who needs terrorists when we have BP?
Agree! Cheney too! They're both probably grimacing over the loss of their dividends. I always thought the two of them over eight years represented a time bomb. The "explosion" is bigger than I ever imagined.
All the current news from British Petroleum sounds like a script! The whole story from the beginning with the low amounts of oil, the Coast Guard reports of no oil and low estimates, the lack of containment vessels, the oil is only on top of the water, there is no oil and you need documentation sounds a lot like the 2003 Buzzards Bay oil spill in Massachusetts. How can the two stories be almost exactly the same? Even Rear Admiral Mary Landry was in charge of the Buzzards Bay spill !
On April 27, 2003, eight years ago the Bouchard Barge B-120 hit an obstacle in Buzzards Bay, creating a 12-foot rupture in its hull and discharging an estimated 100,000 gallons of No. 6 oil. The oil is known to have affected an estimated 90 miles of shoreline, killed 450 numerous bird species, and recreational use of the bay, such as shell fishing and boating.
I just watched, "Disaster in the Gulf, a race against time" on Discovery. 140 gallons of gas n oil are spewing out... A MINUTE....what day are we on now? THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!! N the sad part is people are still fueling up at the BPs' here in Athens Georgia. I found this sign on the ground that read, "Boycott BP" while i was running with a friend and carried it with me the rest of the run, making sure cars could read it if they looked our way. I'm now taking it with me every time i go running. BOYCOTT BP ya'll...... P.S. I completely agree with the article, those millions that was spent on that phony and insincere ad by that British petroleum dude should have gone to help stop the leak, clean up, or to the residents of Louisiana. Especially after he said he just wants all this to be over so he could get back to his life!?.... what a dick....
DOCUMENTATION, PROOF AND COURT ACTION
President Barack Obama has said: BP is responsible for this leak. BP will be paying the bill and if they don't he'll kick their butts. The question here is how about all the residential homeowners bills. Yesterday British Petroleum said they going to draw a line in the sand over what bills they are going to pay.
How have other spills in the past historically compare to the gulf spill? You may want to ask residents of the 2003 Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts oil spill that have been in court waiting eight years for residential property claims. The state of Massachusetts attempted to enforce the Massachusetts Oil Spill Prevention Act of 2004. The Coast Guard appealed the rules because of an intercoastal turf war leaving the state with no new laws to protect Buzzards Bay.
On April 27, 2003, eight years ago the Bouchard Barge B-120 hit an obstacle in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts creating a 12-foot rupture in its hull and discharging an estimated 100,000 gallons of No. 6 oil.
I personally believe no one (ESPECIALLY BP) should be worried about how much it's going to cost them or what bills to pay off. They need to worry about how they're gonna fix this mess and how long it's going to take. F the cost, America is already billions in debt and counting (we're never gonna be able to pay it back), those CEO's and big boys aren't worried, they're sitting in cushy offices and taking sh*ts in toilets made of gold. The residents of Louisiana are loosing millions in jobs and tourism. They actually need the money to put food on their tables n keep their lights on. And to think, this is just the beginning of this mess.... Hurricane season is coming....it's like turning on a blender without the top on... u get the picture... GET IT FIXED BP!!!
And FOX News... Ya'll were quick to blame Clinton for 9-11 when it happened under Bush's administration/term... But man were ya'll dragging Obama's name through the mud (or oil) after this BP spill. I kinda think this is a consequence from the Bush term but what do i know, FOX would call me "Unpatriotic and a terrorist" for saying that. Fair and balanced news my a**
Post new comment