The Man, The Myth, The Legend
BPGlobalPR foils BP again — Identify that!
We'd like to introduce you to Leroy Stick. The thing is, you probably already know him, and you don't even realize it.
However, you may be more familiar with his Twitter moniker, BPGlobalPR.
We see you nodding.
Mr. Stick, posing as a schlep from BP's corporate public relations team, took on the role of adding relentless hilarity and uncomfortable candor to an otherwise very, veryunfunny situation via Twitter.
Since the creation of the account, the satire has been as thick as his identity. Until now.
Meet Mr. Stick. Sort of. Sure, it's still a pseudonym, but this is as close to a reveal as we're getting for now.
"I started BPGlobalPR because the oil spill had been going on for almost a month and all BP had to offer were bullshit PR statements," Stick explained. "No solutions, no urgency, no sincerity, no nothing. That’s why I decided to relate to the public for them."
Not surprisingly, BP isn't down with this relation. When Stick revealed himself in pseudonym, BP asked that @BPGlobalPR clarify that it was not an official outlet for BP news and was instead a Twitter parody. In response, @BPGlobalPR changed its Twitter bio to read, "We are not associated with Beyond Petroleum, the company that has been destroying the Gulf of Mexico for 51 days."
Probably not exactly what the oil giant was looking for in clarification.
But the public's welcomed Stick's cheeky commentary with open arms. The sham Twitter account currently boasts over 150,000 followers, growing as steadily as the oil oozes into the Gulf.
Stick surmises that the popularity is due to the fact that "people can smell the bullshit and sometimes laughing at it feels better than getting angry or depressed over it. At the very least, it's a welcome break from that routine."
If you've followed the tweets, Stick's non-140-character-delimited diatribe neither disappoints nor surprises in its scathing tongue-lashing of BP's abhorrent business practices and its mockery of BP's silly efforts to protect its brand while oil flows unrestrained into the ocean. The message is impassioned, informative, and by golly, the dude makes sense.
We're guessing BP was hoping the ghost Twitterer was some loony Big Oil hater off his rocker. As it turns out, Stick has spoken accurately and honestly on the behalf of voiceless millions.
If you are angry, speak up. Don’t let people forget what has happened here. Don’t let the prolonged nature of this tragedy numb you to its severity. Rebranding doesn’t work if we don’t let it, so let’s hold BP’s feet to the fire. Let’s make them own up to and fix their mistakes NOW and most importantly, let’s make sure we don’t let them do this again.
A sensible head in a serious situation. Imagine that.
Think there any spots open at British Petroleum for an American hellraiser? We highly recommend that BP jumps on the Stick.
