Phil Mickelson is clearly the most likeable of the Big 4 golfers, not that great an accomplishment considering the other three all have the charisma of boiled tofu. Yes, Tiger's game is exciting and that makes him a good spokesperson for "just do it" Nike. But if you're a corporation looking primarily for an image makeover, you'd go for big teddy bear Phil, with the "oh shucks" grin and the good looking family of blondes that surrounds him on the 18th green after a win. That's why Exxon chose Phil to be its spokesman for its Masters ad campaign and why I stopped rooting for him about halfway through Sunday's telecast.
Actually Exxon doesn't really need a lot of marketing help right now. Last year, it earned more than any corporation has ever earned - $36 billion. Even with prices hovering near $70 per barrel, Americans don't need a lot of prodding from Madison Avenue to use oil, nor do the Chinese or Indians for that matter. Exxon's problem isn't profits, it's image. I'm not talking Valdez here, but something much more subtle. Increasingly the public is discovering the truth about Exxon and science, namely they mix like oil and water. For many years now Exxon has funded several front groups to disseminate disinformation about climate change and its future impacts in order to undermine any policy response by the U.S. -
http://www.exxonsecrets.org/. Exxon is one of the few remaining dinosaurs in the field of climate change science (though Exxon scientists are probably quick to point out that dinosaurs survived just fine until they failed to get on the ark with Noah). Just last week six large U.S. energy companies testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee arguing in favor of caps on greenhouse gas emissions. Even British Petroleum and Walmart are getting on board with the consensus scientific findings of the International Panel on Climate Change. Besides Exxon, the few remaining dinosaurs include the Wall Street Journal, tobacco lobbyist Steven Milloy, and oddly enough, Jurassic Park author Michael Crighton.
So Exxon is starting to feel the heat, so to speak. Their response? A partnership with Mickelson for a massive Masters advertising blitz. Two of the ads were fairly generic, featuring lots of cute kids and Phil doing cute things on the golf course and ending with some half-true, do-gooder statement. But the ad that really got me was one in which Phil discusses his charitable joint venture with Exxon, the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy. This ad also features lots of cute kids doing cute things, this time in a classroom. Actually this project doesn't deal directly with kids at all but provides a once-a-year, 5 day training seminar for a select group of elementary school science teachers from 20 public schools to help them become better science teachers - http://www.exxonmobil.com/....
Well, elementary school science does seem right up Exxon's alley. I don't want to get too negative on the project itself since I don't know what goes on in those classrooms at Exxon's Virginia facility. But I venture that Exxon spent more money on its Masters ad campaign than it actually contributes to the charity (I'm sure it's less than the $13 million spent on anti-global warming PR and lobbying since 1998). That's because Exxon cares far more about trying to neutralize its increasingly bad science reputation than in actually developing smart young scientists.
I was curious why Exxon would choose to inaugurate this blitz during the Masters, the most conservative event in one of the most republican of sports. Then I came across this quote from noted science fiction writer and social visionary Bruce Sterling: "But wait till it starts dawning on conservatives and rich people that climate-change is Exxon's biggest product, and that climate disruption is causing horrific economic damage to their own pocketbooks. Somebody somewhere is gonna go down hard for that." - http://www.viridiandesign.org/ Does Exxon actually read Sterling?
Phil seems like a good person. It's commendable he wants to be involved in charitable activities. But Phil, Exxon doesn't need or even want your money, they just want your image. They want to paste your sunny smile and happy family over their dirty deeds. Don't let them do it. Why not partner with one of the dozens of truly charitable organizations that really cares about kids and science?
Until then I'll root for Freddy Couples to start making 4 foot putts.
For an intelligent discussion of the latest in real climate change science - http://www.realclimate.org/
For an explanation of how corporations fund fake science front groups to manipulate public perception regarding policy issues -- http://www.prwatch.org/...