Recasting Big Oil’s Battered Image

Ads by Chevron and Others Aim to Send Positive Messages

A 2 1/2 -minute television commercial will debut this weekend, directed by Lance Acord, the cinematographer on “Lost in Translation,” “Being John Malkovich” and “Marie Antoinette.” It will feature music by the British composer Paul Leonard-Morgan, who was recently commissioned to write a piece for the U.S. Olympic Committee. And it will have an earnest voice-over by acclaimed indie actor Campbell Scott.
All this theatrical firepower has been marshaled for a new “power of human energy” campaign by Chevron, a charter member of Big Oil (often seen as Big Bad Oil). In today’s eco-conscious political environment, Chevron is trying to portray itself as a company with “people of vision” striving to meet today’s energy needs while searching for better, cleaner ways to meet them in the future.

It isn’t the first time a big oil company has spent lavishly on image ads. British Petroleum rebranded itself as simply BP to stand for “beyond petroleum” and came up with a sunburst-style logo. In recent weeks, Exxon Mobil has been running print ads called “reinventing your wheels” about its efforts to improve fuel economy and “passport to progress” about the company’s funding for U.S. math and science and overseas literacy programs.

But few have matched the new Chevron campaign for polish or emotion, or for its ambitious bid to recast itself as an environmentally responsible corporate citizen. Its creator said it was more of a “rallying cry” than an advertisement.

The Washington Post