Petrobras: Crayoning class

Originality of image display helps a home page stand out.

The Site

Petrobras, the Brazilian energy giant, has an unusual image-based panel on its home page.

Petrobras has a new global site that acts as a gateway to its country sites. The home page has a relatively shallow header panel, with five images next to a ‘Welcome to our global website’ line. The images are like small postcards and move slightly and randomly around the space. All are produced using an unusual crayon effect treatment. Obeying the instruction to click on an image triggers a music-backed Flash sequence that takes up the whole panel.

One sequence has a turtle swimming slowly from right to left, with messages appearing and disappearing. The opening message is “What energy is this that grows with difference?”. It is followed by several ‘green’ messages, settling on “This is Petrobras’ energy”, before returning to the original theme. The other sequences have similar sustainability messages.

The Takeaway

The English may be dubious and the slogans bland, but Petrobras is making its home page stand out by its originality. First, the shallowness of the header panel shows that it is not necessary to have a large, dominant image to grab attention. The unusually treated images, gently animated, are difficult to ignore and there is plenty of space for links, text and other elements on a home page that does not need to be scrolled.

Second, the sequences are self-contained. Like billboards, they are designed to get a branding message across rather than lead through to other elements in the site. That means they can only work if they are good enough, which can only be tested by analysing the clicks. The use of crayon effect is attractive and goes well with the restrained animation. Music is needed, though it is a shame that it is the same for each sequence and is hardly original.

This new site appears to be an attempt by Petrobras to raise its profile as an oil major – if originality is one of the messages it wants to transmit, the home page is a good start.

First published on 25 March, 2008