BP’s most ironic ads ever [SLIDESHOW]

Sometimes you can only fully appreciate something if you look at it many years later. Pictures of celebrities before they were famous, for example. BP’s case, however, is less “Wow! Look at how cute and awkward they were” and more “Wow! Look at how they tried to sucker us!” If you go back far enough, you’ll find they’ve been positioning themselves as a shiny, happy company for decades — even before their 2000 brand shift when they merged with Amoco, took over Arco, and famously changed their tagline to “Beyond Petroleum.” That’s also when the company embraced the sun/star happy green and yellow logo. Slogans like “We Believe in Alternative Energy Like Solar and Cappuccino” were the spin of choice.

BP’s greenwashing has always been ironic but now that oil has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for more than two months, BP’s advertisements through the years are even more painful to see.

So, take a shot of something strong as you take a tour of BP’s eight most ironic ads through the 20^th century — and beyond.

——————————

“BP: Best Possible” (1922)

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

We have some other ideas of what BP stands for: Bitterest Possible. Bloody Pathetic. Ballsy Promotion. Black Paste. Better Prosecute.

Reader support helps sustain our work. Donate today to keep our climate news free. All donations DOUBLED!

One Time
Monthly

$10
$15
Other

“The oiliest oil” (1953)

Photo: jbcurio via Flickr

Snuggling up to a big, “green” drop of the “oiliest oil” is not as much fun as these cars make it out to be. Just ask the pelicans.

“If all this has happened in just fifty years what will the next fifty years bring?” (1959)

BP ad: 50 years Well … BP just barely squeaked by the “next fifty years” since ’59 without an oilpocalypse. But the start of the next fifty ain’t lookin’ so hot.