Why would you advertise against yourself?

Over the last few days, I've seen several Citgo ads on TV offering 40% discounts on home heating oil to families that can't afford to heat their homes. These ads make it very clear that Citgo is a Venezuelan-owned company and that the oil comes from Venezuela. By now, I'm sure most people know that Venezuela = Hugo Chavez.

So, these ads may marginally improve Chavez's image among the poor in the Northeast (which is the only place where heating oil is still common), but I can't imagine that they do Citgo any good. I doubt most people had any idea that Citgo was a Venezuelan company before. Now that they do, I'm sure many will decide not to buy their gas at a Citgo station.

Is the trade-off really worth it to Chavez? Or, is he just too stupid to understand this won't help his company?