BP Advertisement Culture Jamming

1
BP AdvertisementCulture Jamming

• Wes Gilligan
• Josh Lebovitz

2
Original Advertisement

• This advertisement was part of a series used in
  BPs UK print campaign
• A similar campaign was run in the US, although
  this particular ad was not used

3
Why We Chose This Ad

• Green washing - the advertisement misleads the
  reader into thinking that BP is a green
  company, when the reality is this is far from the
  truth
• The ad does this through the text, choice of
  colors and symbols, and the natural aesthetic
  appeal

4
Theory

• Michel Foucault discourse
• Discourse - the embodiment of ideology, practice,
  and the vocabulary in which the practice is
  discussed (Foucault 309)
• Jürgen Habermas the public sphere
• Public sphere - as a sphere which mediates
  between society and state, in which the public
  organizes itself as the bearer of public opinion,
  in accordance with the principle of the public
  sphere (Habermas 102-3)

5
Our Culture Jamming Advertisement

• BP working very hard to improve public image
• Environmental consciousness, alternative energy
• Still driven by profit
• Profit comes mainly from fossil fuels

6
Works Cited

• Cox, Robert. Environmental Communication and the
  Public Sphere. Thousand Oaks Sage Publications,
  2006.
• Foucault, Michel. Aesthetics, Method, And
  Epistemology. Vol. 2. New York The New P, 1998.
• Habermas, Jurgen. "The Public Sphere An
  Encyclopedia Article." Media and cultural
  studies (2001) 102-07. Sakai COMRT 362 09/SP
  Resources. Allegheny College. 27 Feb. 2009
  lthttps//sakai.allegheny.edu/access/content/group/
  19662-COMRT-365-00-09_SP/Library20Reserves/Readin
  gs/Unit203/Habermas20The20Public20Sphere20An
  20Encyclopedia20Article.pdfgt.
• "Hydrocarbons and low carbons living in harmony."
  Advertisement. BP World Advertising. 1 Mar. 2009
  lthttp//www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp
  /STAGING/global_assets/downloads/A/press_ad_1of5.p
  dfgt.
• Lackner, Klaus S., and Jeffrey D. Sachs. "A
  Robust Strategy for Sustainable Energy." Project
  Muse. Pelletier, Meadville. 29 Feb. 2009.
  Keyword Sustainable Energy.
• Mainieri, Tina, Elaine G. Barnett, Trisha R.
  Valdero, John B. Unipan, and Stuart Oskamp.
  "Green Buying The influence of Environmental
  Concern on Consumer Behavior." The Journal of
  Social Psychology 137 (97) 189-204. Project
  Muse. Allegheny College. 1 Mar. 09.
• Sturken, Marita, and Lisa Cartwright. Practices
  of Looking An Introduction to Visual Culture. 2nd
  ed. New York Oxford UP, USA, 2007.