In a surprising trend that’s catching global attention, big oil corporations have started to harness the power of social media influencers to market their products. A decision that has faced backlash from followers mindful of the environment. Social media personalities, typically associated with lifestyle-related content, are seen to be endorsing petrol stations, fuel benefits, and club cards. This trend has been recognized in countries such as India, Mexico, the United States, and South Africa on various platforms, including Instagram, Twitch, and TikTok. The corporations under the spotlight include oil industry giants such as BP, Chevron, Shell, ExxonMobil, and TotalEnergies.
A TikTok personality known as The Petrol Princess, boasts 2.7 million followers and is forecasting her affiliation with Shell, inviting her fan base to join her at a Shell petrol station. All collaborations are duly tagged as ‘paid partnership’ as per the guidelines of the platforms. DeSmog, a website that uncovers climate misinformation, in a separate probe, found more than 100 influencers endorsing oil and gas corporations. The identified influencers range from lifestyle bloggers to influencers focusing on family-related content.
There is a growing concern among experts that these oil companies are targeting younger demographics in an attempt to strengthen their oil and gas-focused business models. This strategy is unfolding at a time when the world is seeking cleaner energy alternatives to combat global warming—an environmental issue primarily instigated by burning fossil fuels.
According to Melissa Aronczyk, a professor of communication and information at Rutgers University, many young individuals are conscious of the immediacy of the climate change issue and hold a negative opinion of fossil fuel corporations. These companies are now trying to cultivate social capital with such audiences.
However, not all collaborations are meeting with approval. A gamer who has about 178,000 followers on her Instagram handle @chica, faced considerable backlash for a recent post that promotes a new Shell-sponsored feature in the popular online game Fortnite. This resulted in criticism from one of her followers, who stated: “I understand you have to make money, but advertising a fossil fuel company in 2023 ain’t the way.”
In addition to this, promotional videos for ExxonMobil’s products were detected by AFP. One of them featured a pregnant woman at a gas station promoting the company’s rewards program. ExxonMobil, in its defense, says that it uses influencers, like many other corporations, to enlighten consumers about the advantages of its fuel rewards program.
As per an anonymous spokesperson from Shell, their company uses social media and various marketing strategies to bring to light their low-carbon products. However, when asked about specific examples, the spokesperson excused themselves from providing any and made no comment about the paid partnerships regarding petrol products.
AFP, when searching Shell’s renewable fuel-related hashtags, found only a handful of Instagram posts promoting its electric vehicle charging application. Unfortunately, no follow-up responses were received from BP, Chevron, and TotalEnergies.
Duncan Meisel, the director of Clean Creatives – an initiative encouraging PR and advertising professionals to decline fossil-fuel clients, stated that promoting fossil fuels via influencer marketing could indeed backfire. He warns that influencers working with fossil fuel companies could see their reputation take a hit and result in a decrease in their follower counts.
All the influencers mentioned opted not to comment on this issue. Meanwhile, in other news, a boat owner in Phuket is being pressed with charges for causing environmental harm due to an oil leak. More of this news can be found on our new Facebook page.
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