Response to "Yes Men", an article about Chevron 10/29/2010

Well, in all honesty at first-read I really didn't understand what was going on, this is only because both the real ads debuted by Chevron and the spoof ads done by the Yes Men were so similar in comparison I needed a double take. I can say that they did an excellent job in spoofing the company and provide insight to a highly satirical view on what the company is trying to say. Allegedly Chevron is now a "by-the-people-for-the-people" company who "Agrees" in atoning for the mistakes oil companies have made, supporting small businesses etc. However, without the ads done by the Yes Men i would have never looked at from their perspective which is that Chevron is saying, yes it's high time oil companies started becoming progressive and fir the good of all, but they are also pointing out the companies faults and problems. This was cleverly designed by the Yes Men. I do find though, that due to the striking similarities of both ad campaigns that the message put forth by the Yes Men might be overlooked by viewers such as myself. As I stated, I didn't fully understand their message to be a satirical critic but rather a continuation of Chevron's original campaign. I has to re-read the article and their ad to catch all of the little changes and mockeries installed in the ad. But whether the almost-perfect-symetry between the two is a hinderance or an excellent means to make a point remains to be seen.