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Creative director vents about oily mess There’s an op-ed piece in The New York Times today that’s worth a read, and not just because it’s the work of an ad guy. Written by John Kenney, a creative director at an undisclosed ad agency, it details how his then-agency (I believe it was Ogilvy & Mather) developed BP’s famous, enlightened “Beyond petroleum” campaign in 2000, and his disillusionment following the disclosure last week that BP was closing down the Prudhoe Bay pipeline because it’s become corroded. He writes: “I guess, looking at it now, ‘Beyond petroleum’ is just advertising. It’s become mere marketing—perhaps it always was —instead of a genuine attempt to engage the public in the debate or a corporate rallying cry to change the paradigm. Maybe I’m naive.” —Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

August 14, 2006 | Permalink

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Comments

I think the best marketing/advertising is when the story you tell (or lie, like Seth Godin calls it), actually gets adopted by the company (the rallying cry concept) and proves true in the company's actions and customer relations.

Posted by: Jimbo | Aug 14, 2006 3:51:32 PM

don't mean to be cruel but...yeah, he'smaybe a litle naive. i guess it's easy to get caught up in the creative whirlwind but it still amazes me when i find agency people who think their work is anything more than "just advertising." just cuz you wrote some positioning that sounded good into the brief doesn't mean it's true in any real sense.

Posted by: jam | Aug 14, 2006 5:43:05 PM

You were not the only one who found it odd that the credit said that he was a creative director "at an ad agency" - without specifying which agency.

Posted by: Alex Cross | Aug 14, 2006 5:54:02 PM

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Posted by: Scott | Aug 14, 2006 7:40:28 PM

What a tool.
He told himself that he was "changing the paradigm."
Gonna make a difference.
yeah, baby.
Show people how it's done.
And the Money was So Good.
But something went wrong.
He feels dirty. UNCLEAN.
A little shaky.
"Buggered by Big Oil" does not look good on a resume.

Posted by: joe smith jr. | Aug 14, 2006 8:52:42 PM

greenwashing at its finest... check out its resemblance to the green party of canada's logo: http://www.greenparty.ca/

Posted by: del_ruby | Aug 14, 2006 9:02:34 PM

John Kenney’s NYT piece is sad, not just because it smacks of naivety, but because anyone who’s been in this business a while knows that it is incapable of massive shifts of opinion. Look at the millions wasted on anti drug/drink/sex PA’s. Look at the billions blown on US car brands as their sales continue to decline. Yes it might shift soda and chips, but it won’t change many peoples perception of oil companies when they read about the obscene profits and take home pay of their management. I laughed at his comment that “The campaign is running again. I heard that the interviewees are prescreened now, which is too bad.” Of course they’re pre-screened, do you think any major corporation is going to let the ignorant public bad mouth them on national TV? I hope Mr. Kenney is now working on something a little less traumatic now. Maybe Nuclear power stations!

Posted by: George Parker | Aug 14, 2006 9:40:36 PM

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