bp Gulf Gusher and Coleridge

"Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink."

In 2000 British Petroleum set out on a campaign to promote the new bp "as the choice for the environmentally-aware motorist.

The lower-case letters were chosen because focus groups said bp is friendlier than the old imperialistic BP, which reminded folks of the old "Rule Britannia! Britannia rules the waves."

Buckets of paint appeared everywhere and bp daubed all its property in green paint and advertised its annual report under the slogan 'Now We're Greener Than Ever.'" The new tag line became "bp - Beyond petroleum. Make the day a little better."

Now, in the spring of 2010, it looks like it may be time for a re-branding of the corporate image. One suited to today's realities.

It could be built around the refrain at the beginning of this post taken from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner."