Shell’s Real Energy Stories — Eureka from Shell Films
Preamble:
Corporate Communicators — Hey, don’t BS me, or even finesse me, especially if you are in the environmental destruction business.
I came across ‘Shell’s new global communication campaign using real-life stories about Shell employees solving complex challenges’ thanks to Rohit Bhargava’s Influential Marketing Blog.
I was fascinated by those BMW short films, The Hire that Fallon did in the earlier days of the internet. Even though the films never quite blew me away, the concept certainly did.
With the YouTube/podcast era web, delivering infomercials to the masses is a viable way to get a message out, especially to a niche audience.
Shell’s Real Energy Stories:
As for Shell’s Eureka (LP|45), this is, as advertising and public relations, a really great approach. The film itself is great film. It is supposed to give me a ‘real’ look into Shell. I have come to demand this real life look into a company, especially one that exerts as much influence upon the world as Shell does.
Now I am willing to believe that Shell and other oil companies are overflowing with people who care about the environment even more than I do and are doing more than most of us to ’save the environment’, all the while chasing the mighty petrobuck.
But you know, great film, great storytelling aside, I REALLY felt that this film is pushing my buttons and while to an extent I do expect that from corporate advertising, coming from an oil company it just feels creepy.
The film does a great job making the main characters human. That is important, because, let’s be fair, oil companies are not filled with monsters.
This film shows that Shell innovates in order to not damage the environment.
I had this red flag moment though. I found particularly creepy the suggestion that no one had ever thought of this flexible drilling technology until Jaap Van Ballegooijen had the Eureka moment watching his angst ridden son slurping up the last remnants of a malted milk. I recall seeing concepts like this on public television when I still had one.
I understand that you have to summarize and use some shorthand in advertising. But I think that the way it is done shows the true heart and values of the organization.
An oil company has got to know that they are suspect. Suspect even among relative cut-throats. The boardroom scene where Jaap Van Ballegooijen demos the ‘bendy straw drill’ to the team, I don’t believe that ever happened.
Then I had a look at Shell’s site for ‘Real Energy Stories’, the graphics are so circa 1998 that I am just left with the feeling that Shell doesn’t really ‘get it’.
A better way?
I heard this podcast interview on Inc.com’s Inside the Issue about Bzz Agent. (article | podcast) They hired a blogger to come into to company for several months, basically as an embedded reporter, and just blog about the company. I think that is more like the future of authentic, corporate communications.
If a company is really innovating, offering value to customers and of course being a good corporate citizen, then this ought to be a very, very attractive mode of communicating. Also, it’s really cheap.
Shell, show the good the bad and the ugly. In the end, I will buy your product if I believe that you are REALLY doing everything possible not to rape the Earth. Trust me, I’m not stupid, I realize that you are in a position that’s really, really complex.
Best Line in the Film: “Just like facts don’t stand in the way of a good story?”
Disclosure: I have not owned a car in about 15 years. I ride a bicycle around town and take the train or subway a lot. I do fly, and that is really bad for the environment.
Charlie Rockwave
Rockwave Development Team
This thing IS GONNA ROCK!
Skype me!: charlie.rockwave
www.aiping.jp
