BP Blog

Everything is a argument and if you have a large family you would know this is true. So the first thing I noticed is the spokesperson and three immediate arguments which are she is a woman, she is black and she is not the CEO. Now you might ask how are those things arguments those things just show BP doesn't show favoritism to employees and if this is your reaction you are wrong, very very wrong but it is not your fault let me explain.

So the first thing is she is a woman. This is an argument because in society men are typically seen as the face of organizations not that this is right or wrong but that is the social norm so putting Iris Cross in one of its first commercials after the horrible situation BP has caused makes a statement. So do I personally feel this argument is affective not exactly although I don't necessarily believe that it makes the argument weak either I just don't think that the average person will even catch this point of showing a feminine which is often associated with nurturing and caring will make much of a difference on the perception of BP.

The second argument she is black. Now this raises all kinds of arguments, debates and discussions. The first of which is is she just a paid actor or does she really work for BP because if she is just a paid actor that could be a sign saying BP is only putting people in ads to make it seem that they are about diversity but don't have any diversity in there workplace so the fact she works for them is a major plus. This brings in an emotional appeal/argument for this advertisement. Usually when someone speaks of the Gulf region immediately people think of New Orleans and it just so "happens" half way through the ad she informs us that she is from New Orleans which makes viewers connect with her and says she can identify with the audience she is presenting to. I think its kind of funny actually that she says that because it makes it seem like the focus is in New Orleans which really stirs up emotions in people especially Americans because of how Hurricane Katrina was handled and the way African Americans were portrayed during this tragedy. I think of all the arguments made this one draws directly from a very relevant American tragedy and I think the message that they are helping New Orleans gives the company a better perception from the American public because that is such a touchy issue. Make no mistake this was definitely planned and well thought out like most commercials and business strategies are but I say that to say they probably didn't just pick her by luck of the draw. I don't think everyone will get this argument or realize that they are doing this but this for sure will gain them some points especially from the minority groups and those who thought the Hurricane Katrina incident was handled wrong.


Now to me this is the most interesting argument I found in the commercial she is not the CEO. Well David you just established that they picked her because of race and because she is a woman and the perception of nurturing and all that and you are correct. But lets think about this for a minute shall we. The spokeswoman's job title is BP Community Outreach which means she is responsible for cleaning up a mess that was made BUT she did not make the mess. She probably either worked in another department at BP or didn't get hired until after the oil spill which means she had nothing to do with the company until after the spill. Steve Jobs is the CEO of Apple and any new product that comes out he introduces it. That's important because not only is he the CEO of Apple but HE IS APPLE. There aren't too many people who don't know who he is, similarly to Bill Gates and Microsoft or Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. They represent their companies in everything they do. Now when most companies go bankrupt, file chapter 11, have a recall the CEO or someone from the Board of Directors issues a statement. Toyota didn't have a local car salesman apologize to the world for having to recall most of their models did they? The first line in the ad is BP is taking total responsibility for the clean up and why isn't the head honcho issuing the statement? The answer is because BP's CEO didn't and doesn't seem to care much about Americans. That's a harsh statement that's the way it is. While oil was still gushing out in the Gulf around day 60 or 70 the CEO of BP was on vacation on a private yacht on a private island. Now if your company was the source of the worst oil spill in US history would you be on a yacht for a week, highly doubt it. Not to mention in an interview he said he didn't understand why they referring to Americans were complaining and whining so much. I wonder why? To top it off they asked him to resign by October and hired whats that an American to be their CEO what a coincidence. However they gave the current CEO one of the highest pay outs that any CEO has ever received which causes me to believe that BP doesn't think what he did was wrong but is trying to save face. I think if people are aware of this they will lose this argument as well.
Another argument I noticed that BP is trying to make is the restoring the community which in itself is a huge debacle because the word community can be defined numerous different ways.They already inserted the whole New Orleans comment so does this only mean they will receive help. BP tries to define communities by stating "Gulf Communities".  The only thing stated in restoring the gulf was that BP will keep gulf residents informed. But what are we keeping them informed about? What other things and projects are in motion to restore this community? I hear some numbers being thrown out but exactly where is this money going besides those with businesses that were affected by the oil spill. Just throwing money at a situation has NEVER fixed anything look at the the stimulus package implemented by our federal government after the fall of Wall Street.

The third argument I picked up was restoring the environment, another objective BP is trying to complete. The commercial states that BP will be in the gulf until there is no more oil left. The first line of the ad points out the fact that no oil has been leaking for weeks and this automatically earns them points in a lot of people's books. One of the major concerns of this whole disaster is that the company seemed to have no solution or control over anything regarding the situation and henceforth oil poured out for an excess of 80 days. This argument offers assurance that the worst is over and only good things lie ahead for BP and the gulf community. I find this a strong way of starting an argument and ad for BP because it is not shying away from the issue at hand and only talk about community but assure us that the root of the problem has been solved.

A logical argument is definitely being made because a lot facts and numbers are being thrown out to show and rate results being made from their efforts. 20 billion for this, 375 million paid out to that what does it all mean. The message is unclear because are these claims made to businesses or residents or both. Most commercials are directed to consumers however in the commercial BP only names businesses as the primary job description for the spokesperson to listen to there complaints. So this leaves a grey area on the whole topic which cant be answered.

I'm not one to badmouth companies but in my opinion BP needs to step it up and stop marketing to us and actually show they are actually apologetic starting with the current CEO not the new American one to make a statement. It comes off more sincere. Think if Bill Clinton when he was caught having extra marital affairs had the speaker of the House of a Congressman apologize for his actions we still wouldn't think of him favorably. I think good things are being done but more bad than good so that would mean BP has lost the argument, maybe next time.