No matter how you feel about Hyperion’s proposed oil refinery in southeastern SoDak, I can’t imagine the reaction to the image below not being chuckling or shaking one’s head or, perhaps, gritting one’s teeth.
This is an actual image from Hyperion's actual website. Click this photo to visit the site, and then wait for it.
I found this when I went hunting for a logo or some bit of eye-candy to go with a story about the permit for the Texas company’s proposed project. The same series of thoughts roll through my mind every time I look at it.
- What marketing genius said, “Hey, know what would be great? Flowers coming out of a gasoline nozzle. That would send the message that we are eco-friendly!”
- How long did it take the graphic designer who put this image together to get up off the floor from the laughing fit they endured when they realized the assignment was not a practical joke?
- What manager signed off on this? “Brilliant! This image will soothe the masses’ worries about environmental problems associated with oil refineries.”
- Is this a company we can trust with something as complex as an oil refinery? Who’s running that joint?
I propose an alternative interpretation: the flower isn’t coming out of the nozzle. It’s been placed in the nozzle by good hippies opposed to our continuing dependence on fossil fuels. Shades of Vietnam protests against war and injustice — brilliant! Thanks for the countermeme, Hyperion marketing!
Not bad, Heidelberger. Not bad. Happy Friday from the MDR.
Now that is a graphic for those who’s I.Q. is 5 points lower than that of a carrot!