Nashville is under water, Mississippi is trying to stand upright from the tornados, and the DC area is just now starting to see the snow melt from an unusually long, heavy, crippling winter.
On the surface, it is easy to say that the situation in the Gulf is perhaps most horrid because of the fact that this is “preventable” and man-made. We cannot avert snow and we cannot block out a tornado. And despite Creedence Clearwater’s refrain, no one will stop the rain. Looking past the surface, the oil spill carries enough toxins to turn one’s stomach. It is so much more than ruining the ecology and the shrimpers.
Before you get too emotional, do not confuse or compare this with Katrina. The common denominators can begin and end with poor engineering and the debatable speed of government aid.
The economy of Louisiana, Mississippi and the shores of Alabama thrive on the gifts of the Gulf. Louisiana may look like bayous, Mardi Gras and Zydeco music. It should, because that is what our brochures are made to look like. But consider this:
Where do people work? What do the universities produce? How do families afford all those great flavors in New Orleans restaurants?
Oil and seafood. Louisiana has a ton of it and everybody wants it. The economy of Louisiana is at stake, certainly, but this far extends the state lines. For example, a large percentage of Maryland’s famous crabs do not come from the amazing Atlantic. It’s from the Louisiana Gulf. The best, most productive seafood starts in the Gulf. Shrimp, trout, catfish, crabs, and much more.
How BP will react is yet to be seen because so much is still unsettled on just whose fault was this in the first place. Who is responsible? Unfortunately for the Louisiana (and we cannot forget Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi) seafood industry, this will not matter. The immediate responsibility factors will be on the shoulders of business owners, distributors and marketers. Not to save face by doing P.R., but to save their businesses. They do not have a choice. When competing for position on fresh, quality seafood, grocery stores and markets will rely on a less-is-more approach. There will be many weeks, dare say months, to see labels dropping the word “gulf” or “Louisiana” on their packages. Since when has Gulf-less fish been the fashionable advertisement?
Be prepared to see a lot of signs that read “Texas Shrimp” and “Florida Fish,” though it is all from the Gulf. I foresee Texas coastlines to see the best benefit, though all will suffer for some time. Galveston restaurants and markets should have the best luck for promoting such delicacies if they jump on things now, in my early estimate. One blessing is the potential added boost to Texas’s economy, though short term no doubt. Perhaps Maryland finest will not notice the difference between those wonderful, full crabs caught off of Port Arthur, Texas and those they’re used to getting from New Orleans, and they may strike up a great new vendor. This would be a valuable turn of fortune in such a sad situation. No time is good for an oil spill, but this is what many consider the best time for seafood. We are in the middle of crawfish season and this is a peak time for shrimping, too. As the stories unfold, keep your eyes and ears open. Watch for clever ads with executives with suits, but no ties for a buttoned-down approach to level with the common man and say, “we’re with you” and “way to go” to the American public, workforce, and fisherman along the coast. No doubt they’ll have a silver-haired male with piercing blue eyes and a pale blue shirt to match. Give him a slight Southern accent or a Cajun drawl and almost all will be forgiven.
In the meantime, there will be countless fisherman, shrimpers, distributors, and business owners who are without a public spokesman or a tailor-made executive to stand in front of the high-budget camera and state their cases. They will have to rely on the sweat and grunt work that has made them great for so long. Refreshing, isn’t it?
- Lance LaRue, Advertising & Creative Manager at Americom Marketing Ad Agency 2010
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