Rather than take responsibility for its toxic mess in the Ecuadorean Amazon, Chevron launched a fancy new $90 million ad campaign to convince us all that the company really cares about the environment. And it might have worked, too, if it hadn’t been for those meddling activists.
As you have probably seen, Chevron’s ad campaign completely backfired thanks to all of the activists and artists out there who decided enough was enough with the corporate greenwash.
And now it’s official: Chevron’s ridiculous new “We Agree” ad campaign has just been named one of the top 10 “Biggest Branding and Marketing Fiascoes” of 2010!
That places them in the gloriously ill-conceived company of Christine “I am not a witch” O’Donnell and her run for Senate; the whole Jay Leno/NBC debacle; and the Apple employee who left his iPhone 4 prototype in a bar. Not an illustrious cadre of PR champs, if you know what I mean.
AdAge magazine gives out this dubious distinction, and had this to say about Chevron’s ad campaign:
CHEVRON HIJACKED BY THE YES MEN
When Ad Age received a call from a Chevron spokesman miffed about our coverage of its new campaign, we were puzzled — we hadn’t covered the campaign. After some digging, it turned out that activist group The Yes Men, along with Rainforest Action Network and Amazon Watch, had hijacked Chevron’s brand, its ads and its PR push. Not only did the group send out convincing fake press releases, it set up very convincing fake Chevron sites and even a fake Ad Age site with fake coverage. Much to the consternation of Chevron, a number of real news outlets fell for the ruse.
Thanks for being such good sports about that fake AdAge.com article, guys.
And thanks for recognizing a truly colossal PR blunder when you see it.
This is exactly the type of recognition Chevron’s shameful business practices deserve. When it comes to corporate shame, Chevron absolutely deserves top honors. Luckily, you can vote right now to send Chevron to the Corporate Hall of Shame!
If you want to do even more, we’re looking for folks to help us take our Chevron-spoofing to new heights by putting up spoof Chevron posters in your town, sign up for our street teams now.