Four months after the oil began leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, a BP 'Making it Right' video was released with the intention of suggesting a personable approach to the company's cleanup efforts. Nevertheless, with much outrage surrounding the affair and its limited rehabilitation recourses, the public response to the disaster has sprung retorts such as this one: a video uploaded by 'the Goodnight Boys.'
The original video released by BP is below.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- BP Parody Videos
- The trend of uploading comedic spoofs of BP's promotional videos highlights an opportunity for social media companies to create a platform for activism through humor.
- Public Outrage Responses
- The trend of public outrage responses to corporate blunders suggests an opportunity for PR firms specializing in reputation management to create comprehensive crisis plans that account for the viral nature of social media.
- Environmental Cynicism Humor
- The trend of using humor to confront environmental crises indicates an opportunity for advertising agencies to change the tone and messaging of traditional environmental PSAs to counter the cynicism that often surrounds these issues.
Sectors Adopting This
- Social Media
- Social media companies can play a role in activism by providing a platform for comedic spoofs of corporate blunders.
- Public Relations
- PR firms specializing in reputation management can provide comprehensive crisis plans to limit the extent of public outrage due to corporate blunders.
- Advertising
- Advertising agencies can change the tone and messaging of traditional environmental PSAs to counter the cynicism that often surrounds these issues.
