Greenpeace has launched a new competition which invites designers and industry experts, as well as members of the public, to redesign BP's logo to “better reflect” the company's operations abroad.
Greenpeace says the winning logo will be used in ‘innovative and confrontational' ways as part of an ongoing international campaign against the oil company.
This morning, trained climbers scaled a balcony above the front entrance to BP's London HQ to hang a giant flag bearing a specially designed, oil soaked BP logo.
Today's action is aimed at increasing pressure on CEO Tony Hayward as he returns to the company's head office for the first time since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico a month ago.
The Greenpeace volunteers arrived at 0530 before climbing onto a small metal balcony above the front door. They then attached a specially designed giant flag to the company's flagpole bearing the words "British Polluters" alongside the altered BP logo.
Other Greenpeace activists greeted executives at a side entrance with a banner carrying a similar image.
One of the two Greenpeace climbers, 36 year old Ben Stewart from North London said: "The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico can be traced back to decisions made in this building. Under Tony Hayward's leadership BP has taken huge risks to pump oil from ever more remote places, while slashing investment in the clean energy projects that could actually help reduce our dependence on oil and beat climate change.
"BP's bright green logo is a pathetic attempt to distract our attention from the reality of what this company is doing, both in the Gulf of Mexico but also in places like the tar sands of Canada. Tony Hayward's reckless approach will cause more disasters unless action is taken to stop him."
The environmental group also placed an advert in The Guardian newspaper this morning to announce the competition, and overnight Greenpeace projected the words "YOUR LOGO HERE" on giant fuel storage tanks in the refinery which supplies BP in South East England.
BP is planning to extract oil from the tar sands of Canada, a process that releases even more carbon dioxide than drilling for regular oil. Today's advertisement accuses BP CEO Tony Hayward of cutting investment in clean energy in favour of dirty sources of oil like tar sands and deep sea wells.
The contest will run for six weeks, ending on Monday 28th June. The winning logo will feature throughout the campaign and Greenpeace says it will be used in several high profile, iconic locations as well as a further national newspaper advert.
Other prizes include a day of training on a Greenpeace speedboat, a design masterclass with top agency Airside, or one of 50 specially designed Greenpeace goody bags.
Three categories will be considered - professional designer, general public and under 16. The winner will be judged by a panel of experts from the design and marketing community whose identities will be revealed as the closing date approaches.
Commenting on the launch of the competition, John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace UK said: "BP's famous green logo is there to distract us from what this company really stands for. This company has chosen to extract the last drops of oil from deep sea wells and the tar sands of Canada, instead of developing the clean technologies that can actually help beat climate change.
"That's why we're calling in the experts. We're hoping that the design community and the public will help us come up with a logo that will actually reflect BP's obsession with dirty oil.
"This is a competition with a difference, because we're planning to use the winning entry all over Britain in a high profile Greenpeace campaign that the company will find impossible to spin."
BP's existing logo was designed by Landor and features a green and yellow ‘helios' design. Further details of the competition as well as basic materials for designers and the public can be found at www.greenpeace.org.uk/behindthelogo
Alain Spinner, UK around 1 year, 8 months ago