I agree with you to some extent but I must mention these points:

#1. The BP-logo make-over is not solely created as a expression of ‘hate’. Among the people who created these logos were probably some very angry people, but rather than starting riots or bombing BP gasstations they are exploring the possibilities of their discontent/activism using art, perhaps in this case getting inspiration from pop-art, which, depending on personal preference, could be considered either art or kitsch.

#2. While $4.2 billion sounds like a lot of money, it is only about 5% of it’s $ 82 billion profit over the past 4 years. (Source: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/bp-oil-spill-cost-0601). Now 5% investments into alternative energy research is not that much for a company whose slogan is ‘Beyond Petroleum’. In fact, and I quote from that source above: “If you assume BP would have made about as much as it has averaged over the past four years, the cost of the Gulf oil spill so far amounts to just under 5% of BP annual profits.”

By the way, don’t you think it’s ‘good timing’ that within a week after they have ‘successfully’ put a new cap on the well , BP sends out a press release on it’s green policy change? Looks like a Marketing Propaganda 101 text book case to me.

Don’t ‘hate’ BP. If you are hell bent on blaming someone blame yourself, capitalism and greed. Unless you’re carbon neutral – or living in a mud hut somewhere remote and living off berries, perhaps you should consider that all of us- in one way or another are driving demand as consumers. By creating demand for energy – we are driving these businesses to produce more.

We all have a choice – and we ALL make mistakes. Yes, the Gulf Spill was a complex accident, caused by an unprecedented combination of failures in human judgement, but perhaps a company such as BP may be viewed as ‘human’ too. It has needs in order to survive and meet demands of society, people rely on it for jobs ( BP, undeniably a giant, is located in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia and Africa and employs thousands of people in each country who suffer great loss if the company suffers) That said many OTHER catastrophes go unnoticed… the number of oil companies drilling on/off shore who create ‘mini’ environmental catastrophe’s every day, go mostly un-noticed. ( see Alberta Oilsands). The environment gets compromised over and over again until something BIG happens that effects one coastline – and then we focus the blame on one company that operates at the frontiers of the energy industry and bring it to shame. The shame should lie with all of us. It could have happened to anyone – the point is – it happened.

What BP ARE doing: According to company almost $185 million have been paid in for individual settlement claims, up to now BP has made almost 52,000 payments on 105,000 claims ( taking in to consideration that many of these claims are opportunistic or false) Each claim needs to be investigated and approved, I am personally quite impressed that the company has addressed this many in the given time frame. They have taken the responsibility of paying out the total cost and compensation for damages to the environment and the effected communities, met the disaster head-on. They have shown – and no doubt will continue to prove their dedication – not just by fulfilling legal obligations – but by assuming a moral responsibility as well, which I believe will be reflected in their future business practices.

BP as a business has in recent years taken a leadership position on key public issues. The company has taken precautionary action to address climate change with a commitment to reduce its own emissions of carbon dioxide, deliver cleaner fuels in 59 cities in the U.S. and more than 90 cities around the world. Unlike most, BP are improving energy efficiency in its own operations through close performance monitoring , they are developing efficient fuels and lubricants, actively promoting natural gas as a key part of the energy future ( – gas is easily the cleanest burning fossil fuel, as well as being efficient, versatile and abundantly available.) BP are also including a cost of carbon in investment appraisals for all new major projects to allow informed investment in fossil fuels, encouraging development of the technology needed to reduce their carbon footprint, and investing in low-carbon businesses. Since 2005 they have invested over $4.5 billion in Alternative Energy, with their activity focused on advanced bio-fuels, wind business in the US, solar power, and carbon capture and storage. They are a leading example of how ALL businesses within their industry SHOULD be moving forward.

THE BUSINESS OF ENERGY: What’s different today is that energy has become a complex challenge, with strategic, economic and environmental dimensions. 

Energy security, climate change and the energy needed to support economic development and jobs will keep energy high on the public and political agenda for decades to come. The main ways to meet the world’s future energy challenges are through diversity, by accessing the widest range of energy sources. BP is has become instrumental in bringing out the best ways of finding, producing and distributing energy; and efficiency, by making the most of each unit of energy.

In a press release today – 15 July 2010 BP Selling out of Oil and going into Biofuels!!!!!! Verenium Corporation (NASDAQ: VRNM) today announced an agreement for BP Biofuels North America to acquire Verenium’s cellulosic biofuels business. This acquisition demonstrates BP’s intent to be a leader in the cellulosic biofuels industry in the U.S. and positions us as one of the few global companies with an integrated end-to-end capability, from R&D through commercialization to distribution and blending,” said Philip New, CEO of BP Biofuels. “Our partnership with Verenium has been very fruitful, enabling the companies to develop a leading cellulosic ethanol technology package, driven forward by the skills and expertise of people from both companies. By acquiring Verenium’s cellulosic biofuels technologies, BP Biofuels should be well placed to accelerate the delivery of low cost, low carbon, sustainable biofuels, at scale.

IN SUMMARY: Human or not – BP has demonstrated it is aware of their responsibilities to those people whose livelihoods and neighbourhoods have suffered, and they are doing everything in their power to put the damage right, in every way possible. They will pay dearly for what has happened to the environment – and so will their employees and the families who rely on BP to survive. The income they would have invested in renewable energy this year may be thrown back into fixing the damage that has been done in the Gulf while other, small-minded companies continue to plunder the earth for oil with even less consideration for the future of this planet and alternative energy .

The way forward is to drive all oil and chemical producing businesses to revisit their business models in order to ensure that companies work with contractors in ways that mean risks are fully understood and managed in future, and to make sure that the contractors take ownership of how their rigs and equipment are being operated by individual businesses like BP, to become less energy dependant within our own communities, and to for governments to put pressure ( taxation) on ALL operating oil businesses and rigging partners to assist in the clean-up of our current disaster.

Hate solves nothing. You can fight capitalism and human greed – or you could just Go Green.

Any of you wishing to volunteer to help with clean up, go to http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/page/2931/46359/ and select a state affected that you would wish to help in. Additional information on help is also available at: http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/gulf_oil_spill/wala-oil-spill-volunteer-opps-lr

In a preface to Logo Lounge 2, Rudiger Goetz of Simon & Goetz praised the BP logo redesign (the one now being satirized) as being a “good step toward reducing visual pollution.” With news footage of dead and dying animals covered in crude washing to shore, the memory of 11 dead workers, the loss of thousands of jobs in tourism and fisheries because of the contaminated gulf, the brand is tarnished and polluted already. Designers are simply putting the reality in pictures. The BP logo has no culture capital anymore anyway – and that’s not the designers’ fault, it’s directly in the hands of BP.

Neil Martin is wrong because Neil Martin thinks logos are about design first, and business second, and culture?… who cares, it’s about design.

Neil, the function of design is communication – not pretty pictures. Right now, BP is communicating that they care more about corporate profits than they do about people and animals. Designers not only have a RIGHT to express frustration through COMMUNICATION DESIGN, they have an OBLIGATION – to all those who don’t have an opportunity to express how they feel about what’s happening in the gulf.

And I’m not sorry for this long post.

[...] oil logo in this entry were “borrowed” from David Airey’s very good Logo Design Love [...]

[...] Photo from Greenpeace UK on Flickr. Via Logo Design Love. [...]

The original design is a modified BP logo with “Fail” in place of “BP,” as a spoof off the Fail blog (sibling site to ICanHasCheezeburger.com).