I had to laugh when I read all about BP Products North America’s new lifestyle publicity campaign. It’s intended to show consumers how its new BP gasoline with Invigorate cleans and extends the use of engine parts, in the same way a healthy lifestyle contributes to a longer lifespan.

Oh, puh-lease. Is this the same BP that is racking up ungodly, $38 billion quarterly profits courtesy of its hyper-inflated gas prices? Is this the same BP that touted its environmentally-sensitive thought leadership only to be caught time and again abusing the ecosphere?

BP should stand for "beyond profits." Or, "Beyond the pale," if you prefer.

If this bad boy of the oil and gas crisis wants to launch a credible lifestyle campaign, they could use the very same Invigorate model, with one modification. They should focus on all the consumers who are now forced to walk, run or bike countless miles to get to and from work because of the oil company’s predatory pricing. As a result, they’re living longer, healthier lives! What a meaningful, unselfish contribution on BP’s part!

Someone at BP should have put the Invigorate campaign through the "sniff" test. When a company is being pilloried for its windfall profits, lack of corporate social responsibility and corporate misdeeds, should it launch a "feel-good" campaign highlighting athletes over the age of 30, who "….despite their age or abilities…..exemplify the Invigorate promise of feeling ‘younger for longer.’" I think not.

BP’s Invigorate campaign gets my vote for most out-of-touch program of the year. I only wish I could hit them with a surcharge for poor strategy.