It's hard not to see the anti-electric rhetoric, but we couldn't help but smile at the message.
Mobil 1 has released a new video titled “Breaking Free – A Mobil 1 Film,” which wants us to break free from all the electric devices in our lives. It shows a dystopian society where everyone is weighed down by many heavy power cords getting in the way of how everyone enjoys their lives. That is until one man decides that enough is enough and that he must break free and hit the open road, leading him to jump in his truck and sever his cords as he drives off into the distance “For the love of driving.”
The company says it's the start of a much larger multi-year campaign that is dedicated to “a philosophy rooted in freedom, appreciation of the journey, and the transformative power of the open road to make your worries melt away.” But it's hard to take this at face value when it's coming from one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, and there seems to be a distinct anti-EV rhetoric in the film that is impossible not to see.
Since electric cars have proliferated over the course of the past 10+ years, one thing that's been notable is the lack of comments coming from the oil industry. Since the auto industry is one of, if not the most important driving forces behind the oil industry, one would think there would be more concern there. Whatever reason it's kept quiet, that time is done, as this marketing campaign is quickly going to come to the forefront of ExxonMobil's efforts to get more people driving (in combustion vehicles) as it expands to tv, print, digital, video, and real-life experiences.
It's also interesting that the truck shown in the video is a serious combustion vehicle in a Chevy Colorado ZR2 with the Duramax Turbo-Diesel engine. Unlike the upcoming Colorado, this vehicle was a true unicorn when it was on sale, Chevy offered an enthusiast off-road dream truck with the package, and if you were smart you'd order it with the available six-speed manual as well. It was and is awesome, but it's also basically the antithesis of an electric vehicle.
This and the heavy-handed anti-electric theme in the rest of the video force you to consider what exactly this ad is trying to make you do. It's apparent that the goal is to get you to drive more so you can stop at Exxon gas stations and fill up every year with Mobil 1 oil. The idea is that gas is freedom, while electricity will hold you back.
With regards to electric cars, this isn't entirely wrong either. We've talked about it plenty of times on this website that the charging infrastructure is not up to par, forcing EV owners to go out of their way to make sure they have enough juice on their trips, whereas owners of gas-powered cars can travel, however they please. Then there are charging times. Even though they're shrinking with each new model released, it still doesn't compare to the speed and ease of pulling up to a pump and filling your car up in minutes.
There are tangible benefits to combustion-powered vehicles, which is why it's good there are companies heavily researching carbon-neutral fuel solutions and even alternative types of combustion fuels like hydrogen. A multi-pronged solution to helping the climate may be the solution; the issue is this campaign is glossing over that, at least in this video. Perhaps the company plans to announce more carbon-neutral or renewable solutions to combustion vehicle issues than it already has; who knows?
What we do know is electric cars are only going to get better and the charging infrastructure is expanding rapidly. When EVs have more benefits than combustion cars with fewer drawbacks, let's hope the oil industry has more tricks up its sleeves than marketing campaigns like this.
Keyword: Mobil 1's Thinly Veiled Anti-EV Advert Isn't Fooling Anyone