Houston residents have been left baffled after two billboards hailing the return of Enron appeared in the city, exactly 23 years after the infamous US energy company declared bankruptcy.
On Monday, multiple other promotions appeared including a new Enron website, an full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle, revamped social media accounts and a high-production value promotional video.
However, despite its professional quality, it appears that the “return” of the company is actually an elaborate hoax put on by satirical conspiracy theorist Connor Gaydos.
Enron was a major electricity, natural gas, communications and paper company, which was named by Fortune as “America’s Most Innovative Company” for six years in a row and employed around 20,000 people.
We're back. Can we talk? pic.twitter.com/9kt4g0Q84Z
— Enron (@Enron) December 2, 2024
On December 2 2001, the company filed for bankruptcy, after evidence emerged of institutionalized, systematic, and creatively planned accounting fraud – which has been come to known since as the Enron scandal.
A press release posted to social media on Monday – December 2 2024 – claimed that the company was relaunching and was “dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.”
“With a bold new vision, Enron will leverage cutting-edge technology, human ingenuity, and the spirit of adaptation to address the critical challenges of energy sustainability, accessibility, and affordability,” the statement read.
The release also listed four “key pillars of Enron’s vision” – all of which contained business buzzwords and other generalized statements.
“The world is ready for growth, transformation, and rebirth. Enron is ready to lead,” the statement said. The new Enron website contains similar corporate language and stock art, as well as links to job openings, employee testimonials and a minute-long video titled “I am Enron.”
Despite the sleek branding and site revamp, public documents show that the trademark “Enron” was in fact bought in 2020 by The College Company LLC, including rights to the name, image and color scheme.
The trademark was bought for just $275, the documents show.
The co-founder of The College Company LLC is Connor Gaydos, who, along with Peter McIndoe, created “Birds Aren’t Real,” a mock conspiracy theory claiming that the government replaced all birds with drone replicas to spy on US citizens.
The joke, started by McIndoe in 2017, spiralled into a full-blown Gen-Z movement, prompting rallies and billboards and merchandise.
Also available on the flashy new Enron site is a selection of clothing items on the company store which include stickers ($5), beanies ($30), T-shirts ($40), puffer vests ($89) and hoodies for ($118).
When contacted for more information about the relaunch of Enron, a spokesperson told The Independent that they currently had no additional comment but would “have more to share soon.”
