Public Relations in Advertising

Today I will be discussing the profession of public relations and its relationship with advertising. Often times when rumors or backlash is being produced towards a company or organization they will turn to a team of public relations specialists to boost their image. The public relations specialists will usually use press releases, interviews, or planned speeches with the company in order to clear the rumors or enhance the companies image. However, in order to reach the greatest number of people, the PR specialists will sometimes turn to advertising.

That's what BP did in 2011, after they were still getting some backlash for the infamous oil spill of 2006. The public was complaining that some of the oil spills effects were still impacting the waters, and that BP wasn't doing enough to fix it.

BP, working together with PR specialists, started a PR/Marketing campaign called "Committed to America"
Here is one of the ads:

As you can see, BP is trying to shake away the rumors that were surrounding their company and affecting their profits. When people saw the BP logo after the oil spill, their brand became synonymous with pollution and the harming of innocent sea animals. In these ads, BP shows the audience that their company is committed to not have another catastrophic spill, and that they are even as dedicated as improving American jobs.

BP came out with several more ads in the campaign, all in which you can see here: All 7 of BP's Committed to America ads

Personally, I appreciate the effort being put forth by BP officials. It really does show the public that they care and are committed to not only clearing their name, but also improving the country.