Why The Heck Is Halliburton Running Television Comercials?!

[Solomon]

I'm sick to my stomach. I just saw, for the second time, the Halliburton comercial, the one that shows the soldiers and talks about the great care that Halliburton provides to the soldiers through it's service contract with the Pentagon.

The first time I saw it, it shocked me and I was a little angry at the hypocrisy of it. But it was only the second time that I realized what was really bugging me about it.

Why the hell are they running ads? They're not selling to the public, so why the hell are they running comercials?

It really ticks me off. I mean how low can you go? They have a public relations problem, so the solution is to run bullshit comercials, and then we're supposed to love Halliburton? We're supposed to accept the graft, the rip-offs, the no-bids, the conflicts of interest, the goal of bigger profits when war is generator of the profits? I can't believe these guys. I'm stunned.

[Cush]

1. PR

have to deflect the criticism

[2004Donkeys]

12. agreed

n/t

[Lindsay]

2. I wondered about that, too.

Then I read an explanation somewhere.

Buying advertising = buying a say in the station's policies.

Bingo.

[AZCat]

3. This is the way it works

If people are pissed off at your company because they are evil, don't change what you are doing. Instead, just crank up the mighty Wurlitzer and spread propaganda like a VD!

[mike1963]

4. Well, it used to be called 'damage control'.

Advertising is a deductable expense, donchaknow...?

:grr:

[spanone]

5. They want to show us they are compassionate conservatives

[boobooday]

6. Slogan?

We bring good things to death?

Disgusting company, disgusting industry. Running our country.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

Jeanette

[Lars39]

7. One reason is influence.

Not us, the media owners. If a big company like Halliburton buys up airtime, there's less airtime for other folks to buy. Halliburton then wields a larger monetary influence, with the media owners not wanting to do anything to upset them. Pretty soon Halliburton starts calling the shots. I've been seeing this for a while in magazines like National Geographic and Scientific American, etc.

[Taeger]

16. Guess who pays for it ...

And guess who pays for that add time ...

YOU DO.

Yes, your hard earned tax payer money is being funnelled through Haliburton and saturating airtime, thereby driving up advertising rates!!!!!

BTW, the vets know what a shitty job Halliburton and Bechtel are doing over in Iraq. Look for the returning vets to come out in force for Kerry (thats why they'll try to keep MOST of them in Iraq through the election).

They are treating our soldiers like dirt. They don't care about the job, they only care about getting the "cost plus" contracts.

[Lars39]

18. Yep, another case of corporate welfare.

There doesn't seem to be an opening that these guys have missed. Scum. The lot of 'em.

[Taeger]

19. Cost plus ...

Doubtless they will add the very cost of the adds to their next bill submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers.

They will support it by saying that they have to "cost justify" their ripping the American people off. Therefore, it belongs on the Iraq reconstruction bill.

[ComerPerro]

8. heh. Its not like they are in competiton with anyone

I think its because they want to show how much they love (ripping off) America.

[nankerphelge]

9. They don't know what to do with all the money they're making

Might as well spend it on ads.

[historian]

10. for the same reason

that Phillip Morris tells us smoking is harmful and Bud tells us to drive carefully once drunk - they assume we are all stupid and act accordingly

[Lone_Wolf]

11. Two main reasons

The first reason is obvious; public relations. They are trying to repair their tarnished reputation among the public.

The second reason is called content control. They are controlling the content of the news programs you watch (I'm guessing that this aired during a "news" show). They want to be sure that the news program isn't too critical of Halliburton, so they ante up money for these commercials. Depending on how you look at it, Halliburton is bribing the news agency or Halliburton is subsidizing your news. Neither is desirable for people who want accurate news.

[lastknowngood]

13. Got to do something with all that stolen money

n/t

[BiggJawn]

14. Same reason Boeing does.

I mean, how many of the new "7E7" planes are YOU gonna buy?

2 words:
Public. Relations.

Halliburton wants to "put a face" other than the sneering visage of the TinMan on themselves, ergo, they run all this Tee-Vee exposure, saying nice things about themselves.
After all, if it's on Tee-Vee, it has to be true, right?

[Solomon]

15. But it's gotta backfire on them. I mean, come on, using soldiers

who are dying in an unjust war to sell a company to the public?
Have you guys actually seen the comercial? If you did, I wanna know how you felt about it.

[NashVegas]

17. "Institutional Advertising"

Sells a company not a product.

Haliburton has some image problems that need repair.

*snickers*

[Solomon]

20. Let me try this again.

Why do they need public relations repair? The public neither buys from them, nor votes to give them contracts. They have no way to measure the success of their comercials.

I mean the pure disrespect they are showing us is really bugging me.

I guess the thing I'm missing is that Cheney IS Halliburton and it's CHENEY that needs public relations repair.

I don't think they should be able to use taxpayer money like this for Bush's political benefit. Is there anyway to stop this from happening? Oh, f**k, I'm just a little voice yelling in the wilderness. Suck it up boy, suck it up.

[Poiuyt]

21. Just like Phillip Morris

I wonder when Halliburton is going to change their name like Phillip Morris did.

[cosmicdot]

22. because Halliburton is a 'household word' and doesn't want to be

how many people heard of Halliburton 3 years ago?
:shrug:

oh, the corporate mind at work

I did see a Halliburton airport illuminated ad in O'Hare back in Dec. 2001 ... talking of its partnership with Accenture.

No idea who that was targeting.