Beyond Petroleum

Beyond Petroleum

Beyond Patronising

Deepwater Horizon

Greenwashing Surprising?

No. With PR men,

Their bold words, dirtier hands

Beyond Petroleum

Because they think

we won't see the oil-thick mess

they've made

in the pursuit of green

just not the green

the world needs.

*

Thanks for reading!

Author’s Notes: While there were many I could have picked that either mean something different than they imply—or nothing at all—I decided to pick on BP. This would be hilarious in a satirical way, if it weren't so completely true.

In 2000, BP launched a rebranding from British Petroleum to Beyond Petroleum. The goal was to change public perception—from a traditional oil and gas company to an energy company supposedly focused on renewables.

However, critics pointed out that BP’s actual investment in renewable energy paled in comparison to what it continued to pour into oil and gas. The rebrand was more about perception than practice.

In reality, the company's core focus remained fossil fuels.

Then in 2010, the Deepwater Horizon disaster struck. The offshore oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20 of that year, killing 11 workers and causing a massive oil spill. After burning for two days, the rig sank—resulting in the largest marine oil spill in history.

This is for Raymond G. Taylor's fun little challenge where we have to highlight a nonsense advertising campaign or slogan. You can find out more about it by following the link.

Here are also some other things: