Analysis of Chevrons Green Wash Ad Drive - Case Study Example

Analysis of Chevron’s Green Wash Ad Drive 1 Introduction Advertising trends have evolved dramatically over the decades and the message address system as well as how advertisements are executed have changed over the years from simple and blatant direct address methods such as product information to more subtle strategies such as product image; personalized and life style modes A new more subtle strategy is identified by Goldman's (1992) as prevalent in the USA which he refers to as “no-ad” strategy. The media options have also changed dramatically over the decades and (Belch & Belch, 2004) marketers use different mediums and different mix of them within their integrated marketing communication strategies. Advertising including broadcast media such as the TV and radio as well as print media including magazines & newspapers still takes the forefront of the advertising mediums but other forms as direct marketing and sales promotions are also used innovatively. There is also the bill boards and outdoor signage. The execution, addressing strategy and many other elements of an advertising message may need to vary as per each medium. On the other hand, all these modes may be utilized in a totally integrated marketing communication (IMC) campaign which delivers a bundle of message to the targeted audience. This paper analyses the “Will you join us?” and “True Cost of Chevron” campaigns of Chevron, the global petrochemical giant in terms of various elements as placement, strategy, ad design, target audience etc. 2 Advertisement Overview With the increasing public criticism of the environmental damage caused by various human activities, the call for “green actions” is being upheld by many industries ranging from automobile manufacturers to canned fish manufacturers. But in the hot seat are the big oil giants such as Chevron and BP that continue to drill for oil to meet the market demand and maximize their profits. While it’s true that the environmental preservation is a joint responsibility of the oil companies and the consumer public, the bulk of the blame is on the oil companies than the consumers. Chevrons’ “Will you Join us” and “True Cost of Chevron” are two shocking advertising strategies which aims to change the public’s perception of oil companies and bring the environmental responsibility on to the shoulders of consumers. The “Will you join us?” ad campaign of Chevron has been running for few years now and rang a series of ads in both print and Television mediums which features different people in “making firm, declarative commitments to reducing their own oil dependence:” The main textual messages ranged from “I will leave the car at home more.” “I will finally get a programmable thermostat.” “I will replace 3 light bulbs with CFLs.” Figure 1 below presents one ad from the “will you join us?” campaign Figure 2 below presents another from the “True Cost of Chevron” campaign which is closely aligned with the same concept of initial ad campaign but bringing a global perspective instead of only a US perspective. 3. Analysis of Advertisement Tolsen (1996) suggested a number of key elements within which an ad can be analyzed, with the main focus of ad design, the ad placement, targeted audience, strategies and mode of address. Fowles (1996) also proposed a useful framework for assessing advertisements which includes a more comprehensive list of elements than that of Tolsons. While the paper does not aim to discuss the Chevron advertisement as per all the dimensions proposed by Fowels, or Tolesens, following provides a brief analysis through a combination of dimensions these advertisement evaluation frameworks propose. 3.1 Ad strategy and Design The strategy on which this ad is based is the so called “not ad” strategy mentioned by Goldman (1992). As per Goldman, “these ads address the consumer by saying 'this is not an ad'. They are designed to arrest the attention of the viewer and even create a shock reaction in the audience. The textual design is ambiguous and prompts the audience to become involved and delve upon it to figure out these ambiguous and opaque meanings. Considering the Chevron “True Cost of Chevron” or “Will you join us” ads illustrated as examples, one can see this strategy well in action. The Ecuadorian woman model and the calligraphic text which says “I will try not to have a miscarriage” is certainly attention arresting. In finer print but clearly visible, the ad cites “Chevron’s toxic dumping in Ecuador causes miscarriages, birth defects and cancer”. The While these messages many not necessarily any particular promotion of the product, controversial nature of the messages will definitely keep the Chevron brand name at the top of mind in the consumer’s mind. The advertisement also projects a resonance of “consciousness” of ones own sins by accepting boldly, more as a public apology which has always been an appealing gesture to the American’s popular culture. We have seen countless celebrities to politicians extending public apologies and being granted grace of the public so easily for even grave mistakes. 3.2 Ad Placement and Target Audience Fowles proposed that the ad deciphering should initially establish the context of the ad by identifying the product category, the medium used and the ad placement (Fowles 1996). The advertisements were placed both in print and television media with wide national level coverage. The target audience has been the general public at large with 18+ adult age range as primary segment. Finer segmenting was at play when the frequency of ad placement in channels such as national geographic, Discovery, and other channels were targeted with a high frequency, given the viewer ship which had strong opinions of the natural catastrophe of the oil dependency. 3.3 Mode of Address These ads acknowledge that the consumers are “knowing” of the advertising techniques and strategy and uses novel concepts to capture the attention span of the consumer than trying to promote product messages which sometimes even alienate the audience. It is cited that the new generation of gen Z’s are highly anti-advertising and tends to appreciate innovative and unconventional advertising strategies even if they tend to cross conventional boundaries. It is probably on this line of thinking that brands as Benetton resorts to shocking advertisement campaigns which even rattle some well established media representations as the Elle magazine which refused to publish Benetton’s controversial ads which utilized documentary photographs of AIDS victims, Still born, Bomb victims (Tolson, 1996). 3.4 Aesthetics of the Advertisement When it comes to the aesthetics of the Chevron ads, the combination of the textual lines, the calligraphy of text lines and the ethnic models all contribute to portraying a socially responsible message. The Chevron logo is placed at the far corner of a blank strip at each ad, prominent yet subtle and not overbearing. The backgrounds of ads are created for stack contrast with the white open face text. The questions as to whether the art work is using photographs or drawn art is another element to be evaluated. In another Chevron ad (figure 3), the oil spills and the damage caused to the nesting birds were depicted by artwork instead of use of gruesome photographic images which the real situation would depict. (Jennigs, 2007). Lastly the state of mind of the people in the ad is another element which should be considered in evaluating advertisements. The people depicted in “True cost of Chevron” are all victims of environmental damage caused by oil drilling. The ethnic diversity portraying Ecuadorian woman, the African American woman, the Burmese man all come together in a series of ads which imply the global nature of the issues addressed by the Chevron ads. 3.5 Audience Response These ads were dubbed as “Green washing campaign” by the web community and sparked heated responses from many who found the Chevron’s strategy rather audacious and hypocritical. Following are some of the comments found in few web forums which addressed the Chevron’s two campaigns. Most of the responses shows savvy the consumers are to the intentions and the underlying motives of the Chevron ads but yet appreciate the execution and the strategy utilized in the advertisements. “Wow, such powerful ads. Right on for so many orgs to come together to launch these PSAs. It would be great if they could get the kind of money/backing the Truth people have gotten for their anti-tobacco campaign.” - Christine – 7 May 2009 “Oh green washing. It’s amazing how the spin-doctors in these companies are able to take a bad situation and make it look like they are part of the solution (without being coerced). Are we seriously supposed to believe that these companies are AGAINST the product that they sell? No…they’re really just trying to spread the idea that their company is more eco-friendly that their competitors so they can sell more of what they’ve always been selling.” - Colin - May 26, 2009 “I guess if you’re the 3rd largest corporation in the US then you have to have a huge amount of nerve. Chevron certainly does. Their ads are offensive on so many levels. Everyone I know who has seen them, whether they knew about Chevron’s despicable actions around the globe or not, feels offended by a large oil company telling THEM to conserve. It’s SO much worse when you learn just how bad Chevron ACTUALLY is at respecting people and the environment. I LOVE THESE ADS!” - Paul - May 26, 2009 “These ads are fantastic! I think the Burma one is particularly emotive: “I will suffer in silence”. With the exposes of collaborations such as The True Cost of Chevron, and articles like this promoting their hard work, there’s no longer any excuse for our silence, or the suffering that it tacitly promotes. Spread the word: it’s time to shout.” - Rowlands - May 26, 2009 “Loved these parody ads! I’ve despised this “will you join us” campaign since it began and it seems to be everywhere! It would be amazing to see these up on massive billboards in major US cities.”- Ross - May 26, 2009 4. Conclusion In summation, it can be seen that advertising strategies, the ad design and mode of execution as well as addressing has changed dramatically. What was in media in early 1900s with direct address mode of product or personal transformation messages are an eon apart from the modern day ads which in fact portrays a “not ad” image. Audiences today need to deliberate upon what is being said and what the intention of the ad is which is not so clear. Ads such as Chevron’s “Will you join us?” and “True cost of Chevron” are ads which work on similar strategy, gaining arresting attention from its audiences. These ads can be evaluated from any angles and frameworks of evaluation proposed by the likes of Tolson and Fowles are useful for deciphering advertisements for its meanings and implications. References: Tolson, A. (1996), text and discourse in media studies. London: Arnold Fowles, J. (1996) Advertising and popular culture. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications Geoff Jennings, G. Spring 2007 “Green Washing What is it, how to spot it, and does it work?” Seminar on Sustainable and Responsible Business GSM - Graduate School of Management - University of California, Davis Prof. Richard Dorf. Retrieved from: http://netimpact.gsm.ucdavis.edu/Research/2007Q3_SeminarReports/Greenwashing_Jennings.pdf Belch, G. E. & Belch, M. A. 2004, Advertising & Promotion: An Integrated Marketing communication perspective, Irwin, Illinois. “True cost of Chevron” (2010) Download Ads. Retrieved from http://truecostofchevron.com/ Chevron’s Greenwashing –ad campaign (2009) Matadore network. Retrieved from Matadorchange.com/chevrons-greenwashing-ad-campaign/ Read More