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Mr. Bill Pulls Out of Wetlands Campaign
By Cain Burdeau, AP writer
10 June 2005
In recent months state residents have watched as Mr. Bill,
the animated clay character famous for his 1970s appearances on the comedy show,
lent a hand to ads for the
But
now Mr. Bill's creator, Walter Williams, is yanking his character from the
campaign, saying he believes it is selling out to big oil companies — the very
people accused of having a hand in destroying wetlands in the first
place.
Williams said Shell Oil Co. is using the campaign — to
which the company donated $800,000 — as a public relations move to masquerade as
a green-friendly business. The last straw, he said, came when TV spots featuring
Mr. Bill showed up in Shell-sponsored kiosks at tourist centers throughout
"If they had taken the Shell stickers and logos off that
would have been fine," Williams said.
Darci Sinclair, a Shell spokeswoman, said in a statement
that the company respects Williams' "right to remove his property from the
The campaign was kicked off two years ago by former Gov.
Mike Foster to sell Americans on the idea that
Levees, canals, and oil and gas exploration have been
blamed for causing Louisiana to lose 1,900 square miles of wetlands — roughly
the area of Delaware — since the 1930s. Advocates say another 700 square miles
could disappear unless something is done.
The campaign and its slogan — "
Even though Mr. Bill is pulling out, Williams said the
campaign can still use previously produced ads as public service announcements
on TV and as educational tools.
_______
On The Net:
Mr. Bill: http://www.mrbill.com
Shell Oil Co.: http://www.shell.com
Darryl
Malek-Wiley
Associate
Representative
Grassroots
Organizer
Environmental
Justice
225-925-8650
504-865-8708
504-427-1885
Cell