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Dear friends,
Have you ever watched a TV commercial, rolled your eyes, and thought, "wow, do they really think I'm that stupid?"
Well, Chevron's new "We Agree" campaign is proving to be worthy of more
than just eye-rolling. In fact, everyone from major news outlets to PR
industry analysts to green bloggers agrees that Chevron's advertising
launch has been a major failure, drawing attention to exactly the kinds
of issues they hoped to gloss over.
Chevron must think we're all stupid!
We're very proud to say that we've been instrumental in exposing
Chevron's attempt to "greenwash" its image, and played a key role in
putting the spotlight back on the company's practices and un-met
responsibilities in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
We've also had incredible help, and the latest comes in the form of a
hilarious parody commercial from comedy superstar Will Ferrell's "Funny
or Die" video team. One warning: It contains a couple expletives (but
don't oil companies make you want to curse sometimes?).
The video is featured on a new website we've launched along with
Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and corporate crime-fighting pranksters
The Yes Men (more on them in a moment). The site, www.ChevronThinksWereStupid.org
provides tools so that anyone can join in the fun, designing and
uploading your own parodies of Chevron's ads. Next week, we'll kick off a
contest for the best parodies with special prizes for the winners. You
can already see dozens of brilliant satirical "remixes" of their print
ads entered by creative activists and supporters!
Watch the video and join the fun! Hey Chevron, who's stupid now?
Our new website and Funny or Die's hilarious spoof are only the latest
elements in a counter-campaign that has completely overshadowed
Chevron's "We Agree" campaign, which the company launched just last
week.
Before Chevron's campaign was announced, we worked with RAN to support
the Yes Men tricksters in launching a hoax version of Chevron's campaign
– with parody ads and press releases that had the company "speaking
honestly" about issues its real campaign is designed to co-opt and
conceal.
Our pre-emptive strike scored major media coverage and had reporters and
the public trying to figure out whether Chevron was really owning up to
its destructive practices. At the same time, Chevron was scrambling to
deal with a multi-million dollar PR campaign that went off the rails
before it had left the station.
With the launch of their "We Agree" ad campaign, Chevron gave us an
opportunity to laugh, and have some fun at Big Oil's expense. More
importantly, however, it gave us a chance to use the company's huge
profits and major investment in deceptive PR tactics to put the
spotlight back on the ongoing human and environmental tragedy in
Ecuador's Amazon rainforest. Now, we need your help to keep it going.
Help us keep the spotlight on Chevron – join the creative action now!
For justice in Ecuador (and an end to stupidity in advertising),
Han Shan
Coordinator, Clean Up Ecuador Campaign
P.S. In addition to joining in the fun, we hope you'll also spread the
word. We've already made a big impact but this latest effort is the kind
of thing depends on word-of-mouth and grassroots support. Help spread
the word and invite others to join through your social networks
(Facebook, Twitter), via email, and around the dinner table!
Like on Facebook | Share on social networks | Forward to a friend
P.P.S. Want to know more about Chevron's latest tactics of deception,
distraction, and delay in the historic trial over their pollution in
Ecuador? Read Amazon Watch's new briefing paper on recent developments
in this monumental case.
Download and read it here.
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