Following the recent US oil disaster, Greenpeace asked followers to rebrand BP in a way that "better suits their dirty business". Over 2000 entries were submitted, and it is now possible to view and vote on a shortlist of entries.
While the vote clearly isn't going to result in a corporate rebranding exercise, it is certainly a novel way to maintain focus on the issue and highlights how the internet is being used for campaigning in a myriad of ways.
If you would like to view the entries and vote go to: http://behindthelogo.appspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Boycott-bpARCO/138332356184294?ref=ts
Thanks for this. I get why people are angry with BP, but are they any worse than other oil producers? Do we boycott them in favour of Shell or Exxon? Or should this be a wake up call to reduce our dependence in general? Similar disasters have already occurred to other companies, and very probably will occur again. For me the oil spill isn’t so much about BP therefore, but about the industry in general. What do you think?
That logo competition was really great! Jan’s post on this: http://development.thinkaboutit.eu/think3/post/no_oil_no_war.
You are right in saying that the recent disaster should be a wake up call to reduce our dependence on oil (I doubt it is). BP is just another kid in the ‘hood, however, a very nasty one - I read that they repeatedly, over and over again since the company was born, ignored safety requirements and put profits on top of everything else. I think it’s fair that they’re getting what they’re getting, and it may also be a serious warning to other oil companies of what’s waiting for them if they continue their dirty practices.
Well, I think that in general the awareness is needed and we need to consume less now.
Hi Jodi, I wonder about top people in these big corporations (oil industry, banks who caused crisis, etc.) - do they even realize their bad decisions had such bad impact on people, their lives, environment? Do they still have good sleep? Do they care at all?
Giedre - Thanks for that - I missed Jan’s post. I wonder if anyone in the forum entered a logo.
There is no doubt that BP has engaged in dubious practices in terms of safety and profit, but sadly I imagine they’re not unique. It’s a good reality check I think - for consumers, for governments and for the corporations themselves. It’s a crude industry in more ways than one (if you’ll pardon the pun!).
Radka - I often wonder that myself. Not just over this crisis, but in the case of the banking crisis etc. Do the people involved feel guilt? I read a quote by a CEO saying that if you lose sleep over work then you shouldn’t be leading a company. You simply can’t get emotionally involved. I doubt the heads of BP are sleeping like babies at the moment though!
Thanks for the link!!!
Actually I read somewhere that there is an inversal proportionality between consuption and happyness, I will post the link as soon as I will find it