Human energy...

So i watch a bit of BBC late at night when i can't fall asleep and among interesting world news and programs they also seem to be the place where massive companies advertise their brand.

One of those being Chevron Corporation. If you watch a BBC you will most definitely understand the tone of voice most of the ads on the program use; you could best describe it as the "you can really, really trust us" kinda voice accompanied by a piano. This made me think: "what's going on, what are they hiding or why are they trying to reinstall and maintain trust among people that; well lets face it don't have much to do with the oil industry on that level". After doing a bit of research and looking into the history on Chevron it became clear to me that they did't have the cleanest record and yes indeed could benefit from cheesy advertising with the "thrust-worthy voice" overlay.

Here is the TVC in question, later i will show you some parodies which show what people really think.

So this ad for a major oil company talks about renewable thermal energy which Chevron also produces, it installs trust and tries to educate the viewer that in fact Chevron has the solution to the problem which is oil.

You might think "hey why don't they just advertise petrol stations and services..." well that wouldn't be a smart move on their behalve as right now they are battling a 27 billion dollar lawsuit for some "accidents" that might have happened in the past. The spotlight is on BP at the moment for their little oil slip up, so this calls for an ideal time for Chevron to become the popular kid in class.

The ad diverts you from the real issues and makes you focus on the good side of the company. Brilliant.

Here is a slightly edited version of one of their similar ads:

I thought the above clip is a strong view one a company which is so controversial.

Here is an other one of their ads, they're all quiet similar and all try to educate us...

And while browsing Chevron's YouTube channel i came across a video about a project called "Blind Faith" which i thought was kinda ironic putting it in todays perspective.

Chevron has also set up a slick website called "will you join us" trying to enforce their view on renewable energy, if they're being genuine or just trying to fool us all; i don't know but do make up your own opinion and let me know what you think.

To understand the whole advertising strategy better you might be interested in watching the documentary "Crude" and do some reading about the Chevron history, i'm not gonna go into detail because that would just lead us fo the beaten track...

References:

"YouTube - Renewable Energy - Chevron Human Energy Advertising." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2010. .

"Advertising Chevron Exxon essay - 13210." Sample essay database - essay help, samples, reference papers for students. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2010. .

"Chevron Corporation Home - Human Energy." Chevron Corporation Home - Human Energy . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2010. .

" CRUDE: A Joe Berlinger Film." CRUDE: A Joe Berlinger Film. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2010. .

"Chevron - willyoujoinus.com." Chevron - willyoujoinus.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2010. .

"Chevron Corporation." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2010. .

"Chevron and energy advertising - Better late than never - ClimateChangeCorp.com." ClimateChangeCorp.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2010. .

Crude. Dir. Joe Berlinger. Perf. Pablo Fajardo, Luis Yanza, Steven Donziger. First Run Features, 2009. DVD.