Where have all the scruples gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the scruples gone?
Long time ago?
Money's killed them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
From a strictly speaking adverting POV, the work that Ogilvy & Mather's did for BP--positioning them as a green, beyond petroleum company is masterful. The logo itself is one of the best. And the face the advertising put on this evil, rapacious company made them seem human, respectful and forward-thinking.
Even after 15 people died from a negligence-fomented blast in Texas, BP was happy and cuddly. Turns out--surprise surprise--they were Adolph Hitler in a Teletubby outfit.
I'm not sure where Ogilvy's responsibility lays in all this. They did their job. But, if memory serves, this is the same agency that once turned down tobacco accounts for ethical reasons. The one whose founder proclaimed "The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife." ie Speak to the consumer, as you'd speak to your spouse, with intelligence and candor.
I'm not sure where the network clearance people were in approving all this advertising. I've been asked for back-up to claims a lot less suspicious (and it turns out spurious) that BP's "Beyond Petroleum." That isn't beyond petroleum destroying the environment, folks.
I'm not sure where the advertising journalists were.
I'm not sure where WPP stockholders were.
I'm not sure about what we can do about BP, their flouting of regulation, of truth, of anything but profit.
Not sure what we as ad people can do when we are asked to do something in support of the goals bad companies. We have kids to put through college. Mortgages to pay. To lose your job over morals?
