I suppose the one bright side of Aramco sponsoring FIFA is that FIFA’s corruption may be even more well known than Aramco’s, and when the Trump administration finally comes to an end, the brand damage may be irreparable to all of these entities so obviously trampling human and nature’s rights for their own greed.
Oil is a terrible situation. All plastics come from oil. Chemical production stating materials come from oil. But as a consumer we can buy EV’s. But the automobile industry is still hooked on gasoline. There is unbelievable amounts of money involved which seems to corrupt everyone. But promoting EV’s will continue to take a bite out of oil companies. Even bid rig truck are going electric. EV’s are cheaper in the long run and so are wind mills and solar. That’s why these technologies persist. Would like to see some in depth reporting on these technologies. No one has done a good job with this reporting, but I suspect you can. It will be difficult to do this type of reporting, but I think worthwhile.
Yes! Let's see reporting on why it's important for Americans on the left to stop buying new gas cars. We are within sight of ending the manufacturing of internal combustion engines (ICE). Once the ICE industry is over, it's over forever and for everybody. This is crucial to our efforts to rid the world of ICE vehicles completely. When Joe MAGA walks into his Houston, TX Ford dealer for a new truck in 2036, the only trucks available will be electric. This is how we get everybody to drive EVs, we're going to eliminate their choice to buy a polluting vehicle. That's leverage, baby, and we should use it!
I've also been following the Saudi "sportswashing" story and agree with a lot of the points made here. But I think it's also worth examining if the strategy is actually working? LIV Golf was a total flop. Nobody seems to care about the Saudi domestic league or the big-name stars who play there. The Riyadh Comedy Festival attracted plenty of stars, but I doubt it's had any effect on tourism. And the WBD takeover by the Ellisons is about as unpopular a transaction as I've seen in years.
Obviously, the Saudis aren't spending $400 million in a sponsorship deal with FIFA if they didn't think there was some value in it. Perhaps it's just to help familiarize fans with the brand before the 2034 World Cup. But let's give fans some credit too. They're not lining up to visit the country just because of these ads. And it takes a lot more to change people's opinions of a culture than a few celebrity stunts.
FIFA never should've taken on Aramco as a sponsor in the first place and they deserve to be criticized for enabling dangerous playing conditions. But it's the clear the voices that fans will pay attention to are the athletes. Messi and Ronaldo already have deep ties with the Saudis, but some of the younger stars like Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal could be the spokespeople we need to shift momentum back onto the side of climate action. At the very least, those hydration breaks should be used for climate awareness rather than more soulless corporate advertising.
Very good points, and similar to what Michael Ratney said when I talked with him. I think my main takeaway coming out of this story was that the PR strategy isn't doing wonders in the short term, but MBS is banking on longer-term payoffs as folks slowly adjust to this idea of Saudi Arabia being just another fun place. Will it work? Of course I have no idea, but they're spending lots of money betting that it might.
Yeah lots of highly paid consultants out there preaching the importance of "culture" to corporate and national brands. What they forget is that people are really good at seeing through the BS. No amount of sports-washing can achieve true authenticity and trust.
It's just a shame that the fossil fuel giants are spending all this money on their misinformation machine instead of, idk, green technologies? Or philanthropy? Or literally anything that might have some social value?
Sammy nails it: "You can’t pump gas from an Aramco station in the U.S. today. But if the Saudis get their way, someday you may have no choice." Very little known fact: Aramco owns Motiva, the world's largest oil refinery--based right here in Houston, TX. Not incidentally, the US agreed to host FIFA World Cup when Trump was president the 1st time. And just last year, Aramco announced plans for a $3.4 billion expansion of its US refinery operations during a Trump visit to Saudi Arabia. And guess who delivers that crude, refined by Aramco-owned Motiva, to you? 76 gas stations, among others. And guess who celebrates 76 as if it were, well, one of your favorite sports stars? The Dodgers. The team's most prominent sponsor is oil giant Phillips 66, which owns the 76 brand you see above those glorious scoreboards. So in a way, you could say we're already pumping Aramco gas. Home run for climate change, penalty for the people. Aramco is using football/soccer's cultural reach to make fossil fuels appear inevitable and their pollution normal, and the Dodgers, our beloved championship Dodgers, are enabling Phillips 66 to do the same. If you want to help, sign our petition to get Dodger owner Mark Walter to drop the Phillips sponsorship: MoveOn.org/Dodgers. The time for action is now.
Historical Fact - 18/20 of the 9-11 Hijackers were Saudi-Arabian citizens
Obviously, DJT would also like to have his political opponents dismembered, deported, and stop folks from voting!
90% of the added Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere is from burning fossil Carbon...Around 10% of that comes from Saudi Arabia.
Plastics from assorted hydrocarbons can easily be made from natural sources, wood (cellulosics), fermentation, sugar, etc.
Buy an EV, charge in your garage, and this will ensure theat US Aramco gas stations are unneeded!
Plus, the newer EV's (Teslas mainly) can drive themselves 4-5 x more safely than you can! You can help reduce road carnage caused by gas-guzzling behemoths.
I suppose the one bright side of Aramco sponsoring FIFA is that FIFA’s corruption may be even more well known than Aramco’s, and when the Trump administration finally comes to an end, the brand damage may be irreparable to all of these entities so obviously trampling human and nature’s rights for their own greed.
Oil is a terrible situation. All plastics come from oil. Chemical production stating materials come from oil. But as a consumer we can buy EV’s. But the automobile industry is still hooked on gasoline. There is unbelievable amounts of money involved which seems to corrupt everyone. But promoting EV’s will continue to take a bite out of oil companies. Even bid rig truck are going electric. EV’s are cheaper in the long run and so are wind mills and solar. That’s why these technologies persist. Would like to see some in depth reporting on these technologies. No one has done a good job with this reporting, but I suspect you can. It will be difficult to do this type of reporting, but I think worthwhile.
Yes! Let's see reporting on why it's important for Americans on the left to stop buying new gas cars. We are within sight of ending the manufacturing of internal combustion engines (ICE). Once the ICE industry is over, it's over forever and for everybody. This is crucial to our efforts to rid the world of ICE vehicles completely. When Joe MAGA walks into his Houston, TX Ford dealer for a new truck in 2036, the only trucks available will be electric. This is how we get everybody to drive EVs, we're going to eliminate their choice to buy a polluting vehicle. That's leverage, baby, and we should use it!
I've also been following the Saudi "sportswashing" story and agree with a lot of the points made here. But I think it's also worth examining if the strategy is actually working? LIV Golf was a total flop. Nobody seems to care about the Saudi domestic league or the big-name stars who play there. The Riyadh Comedy Festival attracted plenty of stars, but I doubt it's had any effect on tourism. And the WBD takeover by the Ellisons is about as unpopular a transaction as I've seen in years.
Obviously, the Saudis aren't spending $400 million in a sponsorship deal with FIFA if they didn't think there was some value in it. Perhaps it's just to help familiarize fans with the brand before the 2034 World Cup. But let's give fans some credit too. They're not lining up to visit the country just because of these ads. And it takes a lot more to change people's opinions of a culture than a few celebrity stunts.
FIFA never should've taken on Aramco as a sponsor in the first place and they deserve to be criticized for enabling dangerous playing conditions. But it's the clear the voices that fans will pay attention to are the athletes. Messi and Ronaldo already have deep ties with the Saudis, but some of the younger stars like Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal could be the spokespeople we need to shift momentum back onto the side of climate action. At the very least, those hydration breaks should be used for climate awareness rather than more soulless corporate advertising.
Very good points, and similar to what Michael Ratney said when I talked with him. I think my main takeaway coming out of this story was that the PR strategy isn't doing wonders in the short term, but MBS is banking on longer-term payoffs as folks slowly adjust to this idea of Saudi Arabia being just another fun place. Will it work? Of course I have no idea, but they're spending lots of money betting that it might.
Yeah lots of highly paid consultants out there preaching the importance of "culture" to corporate and national brands. What they forget is that people are really good at seeing through the BS. No amount of sports-washing can achieve true authenticity and trust.
It's just a shame that the fossil fuel giants are spending all this money on their misinformation machine instead of, idk, green technologies? Or philanthropy? Or literally anything that might have some social value?
Sammy nails it: "You can’t pump gas from an Aramco station in the U.S. today. But if the Saudis get their way, someday you may have no choice." Very little known fact: Aramco owns Motiva, the world's largest oil refinery--based right here in Houston, TX. Not incidentally, the US agreed to host FIFA World Cup when Trump was president the 1st time. And just last year, Aramco announced plans for a $3.4 billion expansion of its US refinery operations during a Trump visit to Saudi Arabia. And guess who delivers that crude, refined by Aramco-owned Motiva, to you? 76 gas stations, among others. And guess who celebrates 76 as if it were, well, one of your favorite sports stars? The Dodgers. The team's most prominent sponsor is oil giant Phillips 66, which owns the 76 brand you see above those glorious scoreboards. So in a way, you could say we're already pumping Aramco gas. Home run for climate change, penalty for the people. Aramco is using football/soccer's cultural reach to make fossil fuels appear inevitable and their pollution normal, and the Dodgers, our beloved championship Dodgers, are enabling Phillips 66 to do the same. If you want to help, sign our petition to get Dodger owner Mark Walter to drop the Phillips sponsorship: MoveOn.org/Dodgers. The time for action is now.
Wish I had worked Motiva into the piece! Appreciate your flagging here.
Next time! Always a next time (unfortunately).
Signed.
Historical Fact - 18/20 of the 9-11 Hijackers were Saudi-Arabian citizens
Obviously, DJT would also like to have his political opponents dismembered, deported, and stop folks from voting!
90% of the added Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere is from burning fossil Carbon...Around 10% of that comes from Saudi Arabia.
Plastics from assorted hydrocarbons can easily be made from natural sources, wood (cellulosics), fermentation, sugar, etc.
Buy an EV, charge in your garage, and this will ensure theat US Aramco gas stations are unneeded!
Plus, the newer EV's (Teslas mainly) can drive themselves 4-5 x more safely than you can! You can help reduce road carnage caused by gas-guzzling behemoths.
I’m glad you mentioned 9/11. I was planning on doing that.