Why BP can’t get beyond British Petroleum

There is growing displeasure in Britain over the use of the name “British Petroleum” by top federal officials in the United States.

And as the Economist charts below, the American press has taken to calling the firm British Petroleum since April to stress Britain’s role in the disaster, even though the company was renamed BP in 2001.

Fair or not, the oil company is, undeniably, very British in terms of a public persona defined in no small measure by its ruddy-cheeked CEO Tony Hayward. Indeed, he has come to personify BP: petulant, out-of-touch, inept and unmistakably British when he opens his mouth. It doesn’t help the hapless oil executive that he also bears a unfortunate resemblance to Michael Sheen (he’s the one on the right), the actor who made his career playing arrogant British SOBs in movies such as Frost/Nixon, The Queen and The Damned United.

British Petroleum or BP, the concern is that its woes may also reflect badly on British firms doing business in America. Enter Bob Dudley, BP’s managing director who has taken over day-to-day responsibility for managing the company’s oil spill response from Tony Hayward. Temperamentally, at least, he seems better suited to deal with the situation. He is also American; his accent may go some way to help BP rebrand itself beyond British, if not beyond petroleum.

As a footnote to this post, it is interesting to learn how many people believe “Beyond Petroleum” to be the actual name of the oil company. Witness the following:

“BP changed its name from British Petroleum to Beyond Petroleum. Our statistics suggest that even though BP has changed its name to Beyond Petroleum in the recent years, much of the public still thinks BP stands for British Petroleum and not Beyond Petroleum. Though the company changed its former name “British Petroleum” to Beyond Petroleum after merger with Amoco, it comes out that people were not aware of Beyond Petroleum till the BP Oil Disaster struck the Gulf of Mexico” : http://tinyurl.com/3yyfcbh

Kaká—the name says it all in Brazil

From Dunga to Kaká to Pelé, nicknames abound among Brazil’s soccer stars. But even in a place where players’ celebrity is unparalleled, few would know their real names.

Brazil may take soccer more seriously than any other nation on Earth. This year, Brazil’s team is the highest-ranked squad in the World Cup, and its star—Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite—is arguably the most talented player on the planet. But even in Brazil, where his celebrity is unparalleled, few would recognize the name Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite. They know him as “Kaká,” a nickname that evolved from a younger brother’s attempt to pronounce “Ricardo.”

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele

As he grew famous, Mr. dos Santos Leite amended the original spelling of his nickname, Cacá, to Kaká; the word ‘Cacá’ being an accent away from Brazilian slang for feces.

Although nicknames pervade Brazilian society, it comes as no surprise the best-known world-wide have been soccer players. Brazil has won more World-Cup championships than any other country. Ever heard of Edson Arantes do Nascimento—the man widely regarded as the greatest soccer player of all time? How about his more-famous nickname—Pelé? A member of three of Brazil’s five World Cup-winning squads, he reportedly received the nickname as a child, when he mispronounced the name of a goalkeeper called Bile.

A controversial figure in Brazil just now is Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri, the national coach whose player selections have sparked reaction even from a member of the nation’s highest court, according to the Wall Street Journal. But most participants in that debate have no idea who Mr. Bledorn Verri is. He is known only as “Dunga” to football fans, which is the Brazilian name given to the dwarf “Dopey” in Snow White. Many remain mystified by Coach Dunga’s decision to leave off the team two young stars named Paulo Henrique Chagas de Lima and Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva.

Of course, nobody knows them by those names. They’re known as “Ganso” (Goose) and “Pato” (Duck).

What’s your Brazilian soccer star name? Found out  HERE.

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