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Earlier this week when JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater, fed up with abusive passengers, snapped and quit his job in the likely most grandiose way imaginable it could have been a massive PR nightmare for the low cost airliner. After all, after a confrontation with a rude customer, he reportedly got on the PA system and declared: “To the passenger who just called me a motherf***er, f**k you. I’ve been in this business 28 years, and I’ve had it.” Then, after cursing out the entire flight walked into the galley, grabbed some beers, activated the plane’s emergency chute, slid down, and ran to his car. His stunt later got him arrested and he now faces criminal charges including criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. When authorities showed up at his house to apprehend Slater he was “in the midst of having sexual relations.”

One would assume having your flight attendant publically curse out the entire flight, take alcohol, disregard safety procedures, and then get arrested while having sex would be terrible press and reflect poorly on the company. Luckily for JetBlue, it has received the opposite reception. Slater has become a modern day folk hero, sick of taking crap from rude, selfish, disrespectful people. Instead of damaging the JetBlue brand he seems to have invigorated it. People are talking about the event; it has received national coverage over the last few days, and Slater is currently the number one trending topic on Twitter but it is in a positive light. His facebook fan page has over 100,000 fans and there are other pages that include “Steven Slater Legal Defense Fund” and “I hate the motherf***er who called Steven Slater a motherf***er.” Slater even has his own folk songs; there are multiple versions of “The Ballad of Steven Slater” up on YouTube.

Like a modern day Howard Beal, he was “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore” and the American people love him for it. His story seems to resonate with the millions of Americans who currently or at one time had a customer service job and forced to deal with nasty, intolerable customers. Luckily for JetBlue, they have not experienced a repeat of their 2007 PR debacle following the Valentines Day snow storms, instead they have spawned a modern folk hero for the tired and powerless who isn’t afraid to say what we all have wanted to at one point or another.

British Petroleum continues their odd public relations campaign in the wake of last month’s disaster. They have recently pledged $25 million towards a marketing effort to promote beach season on the Florida coast. The state will receive the $25 million to run a Memorial Day campaign to assure the public that Florida’s beaches have not been affected and are safe to enjoy. In a continuing case of seriously bad luck, their announcement coincided with news from the U.S. Coast Guard that tar balls have been discovered off Key West. It has not yet been confirmed that the tar balls are from the massive oil spill in the Gulf but they are in currently being tested.

Although they have adapted their “we’re not to blame but we will clean up the mess” strategy, it remains ineffective. Another strange tactic employed by BP meant to protect their PR interests is preventing reporters and media outlets from accessing cleanup areas along the coast to report on the ongoing cleanup efforts. CBS reported that contractors from BP threatened reporters with arrest when they tried to cover the cleanup in Louisiana. This makes them appear as if they have something big to hide. If BP wants to hold on to any small shred of positive public perception that could possibly remain after this disaster, they should be working alongside the media to assure the public they are committed to cleaning up reducing the impact of the ecological disaster and rallying support to save the fragile coastal environment instead of simply sending updates in press releases.

Amid these seemingly ineffective public relations tactics, the millions BP has invested in cleaning up their mess could eventually help in their current PR nightmare. But if the oil reaches the Gulf Stream and destroys the reefs, the environmental effects will be so disastrous and widespread; all the money in the world couldn’t clean up their mess and repair their tainted image.

In the wake of the worst oil spill in US history, British Petroleum (BP) has taken a unique and dangerous public relations stance; they are not apologizing.  Their website’s emphasis is on the cleanup rather than detailing what and who exactly caused the spill. Rather than a heartfelt apology their website’s lead story is reporting that over 2,500 personnel are involved in the response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Their no apology strategy continues with a quote from CEO Tony Hayward who explained, “BP is fully committed to taking all possible steps to contain the spread of the oil spill” but failed to offer an apology. Their position seems to be that it isn’t all BP’s fault. On the Today show, Hayward explained to Meredith Viera that “it wasn’t our fault but we are absolutely responsible for the oil and committed to cleaning it up”. Instead of being held accountable for the accident BP has decided to point the finger at Transocean, the offshore driller that BP has partnered with. This isn’t a very good public relations policy. For one, if you contract with someone like they have with Transocean, you are responsible for their actions. Also, trying to shift the blame and get off on a technicality makes BP look much worse than if they would simply apologize and accept responsibility. BP has had a very public, long running campaign promoting itself as a relatively green company and seeming both unapologetic and unprepared for the catastrophe is turning into a public relations nightmare. Only time will tell but the “we’re not to blame but we will clean up the mess” strategy seems to be ineffective.