BP doesn't like identity "correction"

March 11, 2008 2:05 AM

Oh dear. Robert White at BP's Legal Department doesn't like the Yes Men's immaculately executed spoof of BP's corporate site. The Yes Men pursue the tactic of "agreeing their way into the fortified compounds of commerce", and their apology is most agreeable. Is humorous exposure of "monstrous crimes" more effective than its humorless exposure, or all a bit too subtle to be effective?
posted by falcon (15 comments total)

They do call themselves "The Yes Men" for a reason. Or...didn't that aspect of irony über alles sink in?

Plausible deniability isn't plausible until it's deniable - so laugh it up, homeboys and homegirls. You want some Caffeine-Free Vegan Diet Coke with that entertainment?
posted by objet at 2:38 AM on March 11, 2008

I love those guys. It makes me wish I had a womb so I could bear their children. Such refined, redeemable snark.
posted by loquacious at 2:53 AM on March 11, 2008

Christ, that website is almost as funny as "has a small willy" Wikipedia edits.
posted by cillit bang at 2:54 AM on March 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

A link to their brilliant documentary. Also, google video search results, which include smaller clips of the film. A great exxon hoax, as well.
posted by farishta at 3:04 AM on March 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Humorous exposure gains eyeballs, which is good. But it also provides a release¹ other than doing something about it, which is bad.

¹A laugh, a shrug and a what-r-ya-gonna-do-they-all-do-it.
posted by DU at 4:25 AM on March 11, 2008

There's nothing subtle about one of their older pranks involving a giant inflatable phallus (possibly NSFW).
posted by A dead Quaker at 4:44 AM on March 11, 2008

Hmm let me search Metafilter for 'theyesmen.org'...Ah yes here we are
posted by poppo at 4:49 AM on March 11, 2008

immaculately executed spoof

Right down to displaying wrong because the background "white" uses a color that I've changed to something else in my Windows theme.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:52 AM on March 11, 2008

Hmm let me search Metafilter for 'theyesmen.org'...Ah yes here we are
not a double though, so what is your point?
posted by caddis at 6:58 AM on March 11, 2008

Heh. I built at least 2 versions of the BP site before that one, and worked quite extensively with the current one (which, IIRC, was originally bult by some guys from Sapient). Immaculately Executed? Looking at the souyrce it looks like they've pretty much just copied the code entirely and swapped out some text and images, which I guess is about as clever as the text and images you use.

Weirdly they've even retained certain aspects of the horrible filestructure and the use of about 20 stylesheets per page...
posted by Artw at 8:24 AM on March 11, 2008

Looking at the souyrce it looks like they've pretty much just copied the code entirely and swapped out some text and images, which I guess is about as clever as the text and images you use.

Sue 'em!
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:26 AM on March 11, 2008

Aren't they protected by fair use laws? I imagine you could make a fairly good satire argument here ("drag racing" under "Business Uses" should be adequate).
posted by spiderskull at 10:41 AM on March 11, 2008

It's likely that they just used their tool of choice, Reamweaver.
posted by wemayfreeze at 11:11 AM on March 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

I will have their children.
posted by stagewhisper at 2:33 PM on March 11, 2008

not a double though, so what is your point?

To show you some other stuff from the same people. Or did you mean like, what is the point of my existence? Cuz I'm kind of iffy on that one.
posted by poppo at 4:11 PM on March 11, 2008