Corporations

"It's hard to believe that there isn't an attempt to deceive here," writes PR commentator Paul Holmes, considering the industry group SUV Owners of America's self-description, on its website, as "a nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to supporting the rights and serving the interests of SUV owners," providing a "voice and advocate for SUV owners." But Holmes notes that "its board of directors consists largely of industry reps and

"Years ago, the environmental movement coined the term "greenwashing" to describe how corporations use public relations to make themselves appear environmentally friendly. Now, nutrition advocates need their own moniker for a similar trend among major food companies - call it 'nutri-washing,'" writes Michele Simon, a public health lawyer and director of the Center for Informed Food Choices.

"We have been wrongfully labeled as an auto industry front group," Ron DeFore, communications director for SUV Owners of America, told PR Week. The group is running a campaign opposing proposed regulations in California to limit truck and SUV emissions. Defore is also a principal at Stratacom, a PR firm that counts the auto industry as one of its biggest clients.

"A public relations firm with ties to the automobile industry has launched ads suggesting that a proposed California rule to cut carbon dioxide exhaust could cause more people to die in traffic accidents," the Los Angeles Times reports.