Creative Criminals

Ukraine is the worlds’ most dangerous place for pedestrians because of cars driving too fast. Shell wanted to make drivers aware of this fact and invented the ‘pedestrian ghost‘. They built in a mechanism on some Ukrainian roads where speeding cars were confronted with one of these ghosts.. Result; a lot of free PR.

Surfrider Foundation Europe is an association created in 1990 by surfers who want to protect the ocean and its coastlines.

Last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico left a deep impression in people’s minds. To remember this catastrophe, a calendar with young naiads covered in oil was created. The thick black liquid coats their forms like bathing suits.

Mankind has always had problems throughout evolution. Diseases that killed millions of people, wars between big nations or religions, economic depressions, terrorism.. But nowadays one of the biggest problems we’re facing is something else: Global Warming.
The biggest cause of increased temperature since the middle of the 20th century is because of concentrations of greenhouse gases resulting from human activity such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation.



In the 20th century the sector Oil & Gas was booming business. When mass-productions of cars began more and more companies started to begin in this business.
For this ‘Vintage Tuesday’ you can see old print ads of Oil companies, from France, Canada and the USA..

Print Ads
The first print ad dates from 1928, from Standard Oil, the company of John D. Rockefeller. It’s a French ad which says “La consécration d’une méthode nouvelle” meaning ‘The dedication for a new method‘. On the next picture you can see an Indian fighting an eagle. McColl Frontenac Oil Co. used Indians a lot in their communication to the consumers.
The third ad is from Texaco showing a dirty hand holding rice. The ad says ‘This is the hand of Japan and the dictator nations.. Not a pretty hand. It offers the world a starvation diet, startvation of body and mind and soul.‘. Obviously something anti-Japan and pro-USA.

The fourth ad is again one from Texaco where they emphasize their after-sales services, which started to grow around the 50’s. In 1964 the following ad appeared telling the consumer ‘Ford challenges Ferrari on the track, agrees with him on motor oil; both pick Shell.
The last ad is one for the Formula 1 racing back in the 70’s. ‘The men, the car and the oil’. Simple but efficient advertising.

(1928, 1934, 1941, 1954, 1964, 1979)

Product: Oil & Gas
Country: France, Canada, USA