Amoco Breaks Into Environmental Arena By Beth Heitzma

CHICAGO - Consumers want to know what oil companies are doing to keep the environment clean, and for the first time, Amoco Oil Co. is about to tell them.

In a new national campaign from D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles/Chicago, Amoco, which has stayed away from environmental advertising in the past, spotlights some of the things it is doing around the country to help the environment. Although not an industry-first, Amoco feels the time is right to boost its image among consumers at a time when gas prices and demand are at a low, and retailers are taking it on the chin at the pump.
DMB&B created three spots in an approach they’re calling ‘Community.’ Each ad spotlights a different city – Washington, D.C., Cooper River, S.C., and Denver, Colo. – and talks about locally-based environmental efforts, such as an Amoco station that sells compressed natural gas for cars and trucks and a 6,000-acre nature habitat on the grounds of a Amoco plant.
The work is Amoco’s first purely environmental campaign. Although its biggest competitor, Shell Oil, hasn’t done much in the past few years, recent ads for their environmentally-improved gasolines carry a secondary environmental message.
‘We found in our research that people wanted to know that actions were being taken (by oil companies) on behalf of the environment and that those actions were benefitting local communities,’ said Donald R. Overby, Amoco’s director, advertising. ‘These are real, very localized efforts and have been in place, in some cases for years.’
Amoco and DMB&B refused to comment on whether the campaign will become an ongoing part of the company’s advertising efforts or release information on budget, however, Amoco’s initial commitment is strong. The company is spending an estimated $4-5 million on the environmental push. Amoco spent $17 million for the first nine months of 1992, but spent heavily on its 4th-quarter push to sell its new clear Amoco Ultimate.
The campaign breaks Jan. 24 and runs through May exclusively on ’60 Minutes’ on CBS. Two spots will run on a rotation during each of the planned shows.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)