The Yes Men vs. Chevron – 1:0

Chevron Corp. announced a new global advertising campaign this week aimed at showing Chevron as a “real people” corporation, and admitting to abuses that companies usually try to hide.

source code of «Radical Chevron Ad Campaign Highlights Industry Problems»

Like I said some hours ago:
Haha. The Yes Men did it again … this time: Chevron. http://www.chevron-weagree.com/ #oil #spill #activism #chevron

The e-mails I received w/ the (fake) press releases titled «Radical Chevron Ad Campaign Highlights Victims» and «STATEMENT: Chevron Deplores Subterfuge, Investigates Options» had raw header data like “Received from:” and IP-ranges like previous Yes Men newsletter e-mails. Only the “Sender:” falsely stated something like “x@chevron-press.com” and “x@chevron-corp.com” which leads (now) to the official “chevron.com” but has a different registrar/registrant information than “chevron.com”.

WHOIS excerpts:

«Radical Chevron Ad Campaign Highlights Victims»
(still online, 20101018.2220)
From: Chevron Media Relations
chevron-press.com

  • IP Address: 184.106.131.150
  • protected domain
  • Protected Domain Services Customer ID: DSR-2798929
  • Registrar: Spot Domain LLC
  • Created: 2010-10-17
  • Expires: 2011-10-17
  • Updated: 2010-10-17
  • Timestamp: 1287416924.2116 (Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:48:44 GMT)

chevron-weagree.com

  • IP Address: 184.106.131.150
  • protected domain
  • Protected Domain Services Customer ID: DSR-2798846
  • Registrar: Spot Domain LLC
  • Created: 2010-10-16
  • Expires: 2011-10-16
  • Updated: 2010-10-16
  • Timestamp: 1287388186.8559 (Mon, 18 Oct 2010 07:49:46 GMT)

«STATEMENT: Chevron Deplores Subterfuge, Investigates Options»
From: Chevron Corp.
chevron-corp.com

  • IP Address: 184.106.131.150
  • protected domain
  • Protected Domain Services Customer ID: DSR-2798845
  • Registrar: Spot Domain LLC
  • Created: 2010-10-16
  • Expires: 2011-10-16
  • Updated: 2010-10-16
  • Timestamp: 1287420781.4625 (Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:53:01 GMT)

chevron.com

  • IP Address: 96.17.15.8
  • Registrant: Chevron Corp.
  • DNS 146.23.4.135 / 146.23.68.233 / 146.23.196.13 / 146.23.212.13

My conclusion: somehow the Yes Men knew about the upcoming Chevron campaign and started the spoof before Chevron or they (The Yes Men) had the campaign/spoof idea and Chevron reacted very quick w/ a counter-campaign.

Anyway, that stunt was a typical Yes Men guerrilla action.

Update (20101019.0409): It’s getting better. On the page «Chevron Deplores Pre-emptive Spoof Ads, Investigates Options» IP Address: 184.106.131.150 “they” link to Advertising Age’s article «Chevron “We Agree” Advertising Campaign Highlights Concerns With Oil Industry Problems» … little WHOIS: IP Address: 184.106.131.150 but every other link goes right off the spoofs address to the official Advertising Age’s website at IP Address: 205.234.169.36.

advertisngage.com
(pointing to a FancyIndexing enabled webspace!)

  • IP Address: 184.106.131.150
  • protected domain
  • Protected Domain Services Customer ID: DSR-2798952
  • Registrar: Spot Domain LLC
  • Created: 2010-10-17
  • Expires: 2011-10-17
  • Updated: 2010-10-17
  • Timestamp: 1287420781.4625 (Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:48:57 GMT)

vs.

adage.com

  • IP Address: 205.234.169.36
  • Registrant: Crain Management Services Inc.
  • Registrar: Network Solutions, Llc.
  • Created: 1995-03-09
  • Expires: 2019-03-10
  • Updated: 2009-03-31

Two duped companies on one day. Yehaa, Yes Men!

[hat tips to CJ Sveningsson, without his tweet responses I wouldn’t go so far to make this post finally — and to good.is who did a nice recap.]

the face of the so-called social network

ZUCK: yea so if you ever need info about anyone at harvard
ZUCK: just ask
ZUCK: i have over 4000 emails, pictures, addresses, sns
FRIEND: what!? how’d you manage that one?
ZUCK: people just submitted it
ZUCK: i don’t know why
ZUCK: they “trust me”
ZUCK: dumb fucks

IM excerpt from the early years; → taken from «The Face Of Facebook — Mark Zuckerberg opens up», a portrait of Mark Zuckerberg by Jose Antonio Vargas, The New Yorker 2010/09/20)

take action

[© by Ben Sasso]

In this case it was «only» chocolate syrup:

«[…] quick photo shoot for possible anti-oil campaign for the Surf Rider Foundation and chocolate syrup looks a lot like oil. […]»

But keep in mind that there is a desaster going on and it’s time to take some action … and maybe to get creative to rebrand the brand … like these:

[© by Greenpeace UK]

(this post is here because i was reminded of the photo of ben sasso by T.R. at fb)