BP uses Google Ads to buy public opinion, ward off evil Photoshoppers

June 11, 2010 - By Justin E. Gehrke

According to a BP spokesman, the company has purchased Google Ads in order to ensure advertisements linking to its official website appear alongside internet search results for keywords such as “oil spill,” “volunteer,” and “claims.” Why go to so much trouble to attract visitors to their own website? Well, there is that little matter of the Gulf oil spill for which the company is responsible.

The company has already been criticized by the U.S. President Barack Obama for buying an estimated $50 million in airtime for TV advertising to combat what can only be called a complete demonization of the company by print and electronic publications and websites. BP insists the goal is to guide people toward accurate information and not deter them from visiting websites with unfavorable stories and Photoshopped images. What kinds of images does BP probably not want web surfers to see? In the interest of objectivity, we give you a few examples below.

Courtesy of @badlvillemojo

So what exactly might BP be trying to keep people from seeing on the internet? Below are some examples of what you should definitely stay away from.

For more humor at the expense of BP, you should check out BP Public Relations (BPGlobalPR), on Twitter. Their description of themselves: “We are not associated with Beyond Petroleum, the company that has been destroying the Gulf of Mexico for 52 days.”

Thanks go out to @badlvillemojo for providing us with some sad (albeit, funny) testimonials to the disastrous effects the BP oil spill, as well as BP’s insistence on focusing on public relations, instead of actually cleaning up their mess.