Best Ad Spoofs On Non-Renewable Energy
The best commentary is often the most hilarious. From movie directors to activist organizations, many have contributed spoofs and satirical ads at the expense of non-renewable energy companies. In a world where anyone can become a media manipulator, the following are among our favorite campaigns that add much appreciated insult to injury.
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By: Coen Brothers & Alliance for Climate Protection
Using the familiar visuals of a typical cleaning product commercial, directors Joel and Ethan Coen tackle the paradox of clean coal in this beautifully brief satirical ad. A behind-the-scenes video was also released, showing the background and process behind the video.
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By: Greenpeace & the Yes Lab
This site looks so real -- and it probably should be -- but it is definitely not affiliated with Shell Oil. The PR imitation, along with the viral #ShellFail video of a flubbed corporate event seen below, was so convincing that many press sites misreported the story. Soon, the dust settled and the real culprits were found to be Greenpeace and the Yes Men -- as usual. Our favorite part of the site is definitely the Angry Bergs video game where players must click away menacing icebergs aiming to destroy a off-shore oil rig.
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By: PolluterWatch & Greenpeace
Inspired by the American Petroleum Institute ad "Vote 4 Energy," Greenpeace decided to make its own, shockingly similar version with a twist. Instead of hearing the voices of general voters as in API's video, the Greenpeace ad focuses on the priorities of energy executives: "I vote ... for spilling, um, I mean drilling in the arctic." A fake website, Vote-4-Energy.org, further, er, drills the message home.
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By: Second City
Improv comedy troupe Second City joined in on the BP hate bandwagon with a satirical version of the oil company's TV ads with the theme, "What would you ask an oil company?" The video seems like a normal pro-oil ad at first until the interviewees fall victim to a spill of their own.
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The Hijack of Chevron's "We Agree"
By: Rainforest Action Network & The Yes Men
A day before Chevron's apologist "We Agree" campaign, RAN and notorious culture-jamming experts The Yes Men teamed up to distribute a fake press release so convincing some reporters took the bait. In it, Chevron appears to completely take the blame for all of its spills and promises complete reparations -- the saddest joke we've ever heard. Even so, it wasn't all depressing. Most of the coverage on Chevron's campaign launch day was about the spoof rather than the real ads, giving a bit of a victory to anti-oil activists everywhere.
Read the whole press release here: "Radical Chevron Ad Campaign Highlights Victims"
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Special mention: BP's fake Twitter account, @BPGlobalPR
Although no longer quite as active as it used to be, @BPGlobalPR delivered succinct social commentary during and after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. With razor sharp one-liners ("That's funny, the "Weekend Without Oil" & BP's "Weekend Without Worrying About It" both start tomorrow.") and partnerships to promote a variety of anti-oil activist organizations, that campaign helped raise awareness, as well as entertain, for years after the incident.
