Bob Dudley, new head of British Petroleum’s public relations department gets interviewed for the PBS news hour, and is shown the parody video of BP’s oil spill response: a coffee cup spilled at a board meeting, and after being informed the clip has been watched over 8 million times…is invited to respond.

Watch the video, and then watch his response to it:

Bob states “People at BP talk about it, their shoulders go down, It’s an unusual way to talk about a very painful thing…It’s a company where people get up in the morning and for years, thought that they were doing some good…they want to bring energy to people and they want to do it in a safe way, a clean way…they really are a part of the fabric in America.”

I for one am not angry at the people of BP who went to work everyday, thinking they were in a safe company. Bob, the people that piss me off are the ones that knew they weren’t, and went to work everyday accepting the risks they were entertaining without planning for this catastrophuk or downplaying what might occur. I’m angry at the people who are trying to spin this thing, control the news, not do everything they can to clean this up, minimize damage to the company and control BP’s bottom line. I invite the BP workers to join in our outrage at their company, at this company that cut corners before the well blew up and continue to cut corners now, over 70 days into this thing.

Speaking as a person with a communications major, who has studied PR efforts in the past…let me also add…

Nice shirt, you’re obviously not really an exec, but one of us “little people.”

Hey BP…bully way to give this job to an American, not a Brit cause we can’t relate to your accents.

Nice laid back posture, but are you attempting to promote ease in us, or unfortunately promoting a lack of intensity in cleaning up the oil.

“The fabric of America”…you’re kind of screwed when your company name is “British” Petroleum, not “American,” Petroleum, it’s too late to try re-branding.

Bob, that practiced look of concern on your face…is that for your company, all the people and wildlife your company screwed in the Gulf, or for your questionable decision to take this job?

Let me try a little “Branding” of my own:

Bob, you seem to imply in this video, that your “little people” workers of BRITISH PETROLEUM are sad, unfortunate victims in this tragedy. Hey, I feel for them on some level, it’s gotta be hard to wake up and discover your company, BRITISH PETROLEUM, the one with the worst safety record, BRITISH PETROLEUM, of all oil companies finally screwed up badly enough that they have destroyed the Gulf of Mexico, and then to keep on going to work watching your company, BRITISH PETROLEUM try to cover up the extensive damage, and what BRITISH PETROLEUM isn’t doing about it so as to protect the profits of BRITISH PETROLEUM’s investors. But Mr. Dudley…that empathy for the workers of BRITISH PETROLEUM really only lasts a moment or two, then we get a new headline that shows some other way BRITISH PETROLEUM has not fulfilled its promises or actually made things worse.

Lastly Bob…for the record I might add…go to hell, you public relations hack for BRITISH PETROLEUM.

Oh, and as always…

Have a nice day