My Curious Life

Anyone who’s a Wired magazine subscriber should be seeing a DVD in the mail shortly, along with the most recent issue. The DVD, a production of Shell Oil, spins a nine-minute tale called “Eureka” of Chief Engineer Jaap Van Ballegooijen, responsible, at least in part, for the “bendy straw” oil drill.

Aside from being an obvious ploy to polish Shell Oil’s global image, I found myself entertained by the tale, which also tries to humanize Shell … putting a human face (Jaap’s) on this large mega corporation. Much like GE’s recent commercials with the theme of ecomagination, I’m wondering if this is what we can expect the next wave of advertising to become … something that’s a combination of entertainment and brand-building, kissing cousins with the dreaded infomercials that seem to be horribly prolific these days.

I’m caught somewhere between disgust and amazement. Much like the “rubbernecking” that occurs near an accident on the freeway, I felt compelled to watch the mini-movie all the way through.

While not making me any fonder of giant oil corporations and the global dependency on petroleum, I’m willing to admit that I now see Shell as a giant with more depth of character than I previously believed. I may not like them any more, but perhaps I despise them a little less. In that sense, I suppose, the group responsible for Shell’s new marketing direction might have good reason to shout “Eureka”!