Battered by bad publicity about everything from unfair labor practices to putting small retailers out of business, Wal-Mart has gone on the offensive. With full-page newspaper ads and a new Web site, the retailer—led by CEO H. Lee Scott—wants to turn public opinion around.

The Web site—www.walmartfacts.com—is loaded with rah-rah Wal-Mart content, including…

• Updates on the company’s community involvement. The section currently features a December 30 press release touting the company’s $2 million contribution to tsunami relief efforts. There’s also a statewide listing of other activities and a rundown of the company’s impact on the nationwide economy.
• A “Key Topics” page where, to its credit, Wal-Mart deals with the issues that have been at the forefront of the company’s PR problems, including gender discrimination and wage-and-hour litigation. The section lists the subject areas of all its lawsuits and provides updates.
• A news center aggregates press releases, fact sheets and other material that highlight the company’s contributions and support (the annual report and media contacts are also listed here)
• The “Associate Center,” a hype-laden section in which real employees talk about how much they love the company. You’ll also find information on employment practices.
• “Talk With Us,” a missed opportunity for open dialogue, is just a typical “contact us” page.

The site also attacks critics, but does a lousy job of it. “Wal-Mart is working for everyone,” the home page proclaims, adding, “Some of our critics are working only for themselves.” Read on, readers are invited, but following that link provides no support for the claim of self-interest among Wal-Mart’s critics—just a couple press releases in PDF format.

The campaign is certainly a departure for Wal-Mart, which traditionally has dealt with such issues internally, preferring to stay out of the public arena. CEO Scott’s attitude now, according to an interview, is that he’s not going to take it any more. “We’ve decided it’s time to draw our own line in the sand.”

Given the loyalty of many Wal-Mart customers who don’t read newspapers or watch the news on TV, the campaign could work at some level. Whether mom-and-pop stores forced out of business when a Wal-Mart opens in their neighborhood will be shouted down when they protest, or courts are cowed into finding for Wal-Mart in the various cases currently in litigation, remains to be seen. In general, big companies with a lot of money don’t generate a lot of sympathy when they spend some of that money to proclaim how wonderful they are. (Just ask the tobacco companies.) It’ll be interesting to keep an eye on the outcomes of this campaign.