By Ben Geman - 09/01/10
BP spent more than $93 million on advertising from April through July, revealing its heavy media presence after the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig accident that touched off the worst oil spill in U.S. history, according to BP figures released Wednesday by two House Democrats.
The figure is more than three times what the oil giant spent during that stretch in 2009, according to Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who released the data that he requested with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), a top member on the panel.
BP has run a series of ads pledging to address the damage inflicted on the Gulf of Mexico region from the spill and to help affected residents.
“BP told the Committee that they have increased advertising expenditures for a number of reasons, including to keep Gulf Coast residents informed of issues relating to the oil spill and recovery and to ensure transparency during the recovery process,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter Wednesday to Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who has sought information on BP’s spending.
“BP’s increased spending was almost entirely targeted at national and local newspapers and magazines and national and local television advertising. A small portion of the increased spending was targeted at Internet advertising. With respect to television and radio spots, BP indicated that it aired fewer spots during the April-July 2010 time period than during the April-July 2009 time period, but a higher percentage were national and longer, 60-second spots,” the letter adds.
“BP also indicated that it significantly expanded the markets in which it ran local newspaper advertisements during the 2010 period,” it states.
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