Environment: Arco v. Autos

"What's your idea?" Again and again the Atlantic Richfield oil company asked that question in a six-month, $5.5 million advertising campaign that nagged Americans to send in suggestions for improving mass transportation. The company's own idea was plain enough. Top executives of Arco, the seventh largest U.S. oil company, were upset by public resentment of the big profits rolled up by the industry in the wake of the 1973-74 price increases. So they decided to do some image polishing by sponsoring a nationwide debate on alternatives to the family car. The response: an astonishing 30,000 ideas from all 50 states (led...

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