Environmental Leader

Chevron has launched a new global advertising campaign called “We Agree,” which is in direct response to industry critics as it tries to repair its image in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and a multi-billion lawsuit that claims the oil company is responsible for oil pollution in Ecuador, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The company’s new ads include slogans such as “Oil companies should put their profits to good use” and “It’s time oil companies get behind renewable energy,” followed by the words “We agree” in red letters.

“We hear what people say about oil companies — that they should develop renewables, support communities, create jobs and protect the environment — and the fact is, we agree,” said Rhonda Zygocki, vice president of Policy, Government and Public Affairs at Chevron, in a statement.

Zygocki also is quoted as saying: “We’re telling truths no one usually tells. We’re changing the way the whole industry speaks,” reports Fast Company.

Zygocki told The Wall Street Journal that the ad campaign wasn’t influenced by the oil spill.

The new ads also don’t directly address Chevron’s environmental record, and multi-billion-dollar lawsuit that alleges that the company is responsible for oil pollution in Ecuador, reports The Wall Street Journal.

However, one ad states “Oil companies should clean up their messes,” which is a reference to Chevron’s lawsuit in Ecuador, reports Fast Company. But Chevron’s Website refers to the lawsuit as “a meritless case.”

Maria Ramos, campaign director for the Rainforest Action Network, the environmental group that organized recent protests against Chevron said in The Wall Street Journal article: “Chevron’s rhetoric and the public image that they put forward is very different from how they’re actually operating.”

The ad campaign includes a series of print ads and 30-second TV spots that focus on five main themes: Growth and Jobs, Renewable Energy, Technology, Small Business and Community Development. The ads were created by McGarryBowen, which also created Chevron’s “Human Energy” campaign, launched in 2007, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Chevron’s ads will initially target Washington and San Francisco, followed by releases nationwide and overseas.

Chevron reportedly spends about $92 million on advertising in the U.S. Fast Company says this is still considerably less than the $27 billion needed to clean-up polluted oil fields in Ecuador’s Amazon region.