BP has been called lots of unflattering names.
BP. British Petroleum. Beyond Petroleum. Big Profits. Biggest Polluter. Broken Promises. Beyond Patience. Big Problem. Blatant Polluter. Bought Politicians. Black Plague. British Phail. Bloated Porpoises. Bye-bye Planet. British Poopy.
The Summa is an accounting blog, but today the focus is accountability. It’s lamentable that there are no accounting rules for accountability.
Calling BP names (see the first paragraph) is a signal that citizens wish to hold BP accountable for fouling the Gulf. So is satire.
In today’s post, I’ll bring you the best satire on Youtube about the 2010 BP oil spill.
In October, 2008, the world experienced an economic crash caused by (1) government policies that promoted mortgage lending to unqualified applicants, (2) fraudulent lending, and (3) big banking houses, and (4) stupid investors that bet on a bubble. Bad financial statements were also a factor. Almost immediately, hundreds of satirical songs and biting parodies flooded media sites like Yahoo. I wrote about it in “Bailout and Popular Culture Part 1“, and “Bailout and Popular Culture, Part 2“.
The times are different, and so is the atmosphere over on Youtube. There are not hundreds of songs and biting parodies. I can’t even find two dozens. Why?
2008 affected almost all of us personally. In the USA millions lost a job and couldn’t find another. The financial market impact affected tens of millions of retirees. It affected everyone saving for college, cars, or whatever. It affected several millions with mortgages. People were demanding that someone be held accountable, and pay with a pound of flesh. People care and complain about what affects them.
2010 affects far fewer personally. Raise your hand if you’ve ever walked a Louisiana beach or skiffed through a bayou. We want BP to be accountable, but it doesn’t bother us as much because it isn’t, for most of us, in our back yard.. We apparently don’t complain nearly as much about what affects others.
Never-the-less, social commentary can significantly impact business. Who will ever forget the brilliant music video, “United Breaks Guitars.” United Airlines won’t. It has lost millions of revenue due to customers shunning its flights. I flew UAL once during the past few months, and my suitcase was squashed and crunched. Lesson learned.
I’ll highlight BP’s financials in the future, but today I’m going to give you a tour to some good Youtube videos.
BP – Bringing People Together
Bringing People Together is a well put together video that contasts the voiced clishes against the visual of an oily mess.
BP’s Crazy OIL SPILL Commercial!
BP’s Crazy Oil Spill Commercial is professionally done, and funny as anything you’ll see.
Big Oil Commercial Parody
Big Oil Commercial Parody uses pictures of oil soaked animals.
BP Spills Coffee
BP Spills Coffee is very clever, and clearly the most popular. It has logged seven million downloads.
BP Oil Spill – Clarke & Dawe lighter look at BP
The 7.30 Report is an Australian nightly television program, shown on ABC1 at 7.30 pm. Clarke and Dawe provide satire that, in this case, is extremely funny.
Oil Spill Song
The Oil Spill Song is a homemade music video that zings both politicians and BP.
BP Oil Commercial Spoof
Another homemade satire.
Super Mario – BP Oil Spill Edition
In this Super Mario game, BP wins. Big corporations almost always do.
Debit and credit – – David Albrecht
The Summa 
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