Abstract:

BP Trading Ltd. decided in 1970 to embark upon an advertising campaign, initially in Europe, designed to create a more favourable image for BP amongst authoritative opinion-formers or media communicators, to influence purchasing decisions in BP's favour. The campaign was designed essentially to promote sales rather than to generate public goodwill for the corpor ation, which demanded a notable product theme. What follows is a description of how pre-testing research was employed to validate the creative premises and the communication promises, and post-testing to measure the extent of achievement, if any. And, finally, the reasons - mostly external to the research findings and considerations - which nipped the campaign's promise in the bud.