Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : PROPAGANDA AND THE GWOT Year 3 - 2004 (mainly Iraq)
On Advertising: Diplomacy, the wrong job for ads by Eric Pfanner 
On Advertising: Diplomacy, the wrong job for ads Eric Pfanner, International Herald Tribune Monday, August 23, 2004 LONDON Saudi Arabia, the homeland of 15 of the 19 hijackers in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and subject of Michael Moore's invective in "Fahrenheit 9/11," is unpopular in America. The United States finds itself in a similar predicament in much of the rest of the world. Is advertising the answer? As the United States tries to formulate a new "public diplomacy" to touch up its stature abroad, Saudi Arabia last week started a radio advertising campaign in 19 U.S. cities that aims to bolster its image as a U.S. ally. One spot acknowledges that "Americans have questioned Saudi Arabia's allegiance since the 9/11 attacks." But it points out that the commission that recently published its report on those attacks had found no evidence that "the Saudi government as an institution, or Saudis individually," funded Al Qaeda. A second ad rejects suggestions, made in "Fahrenheit 9/11" and elsewhere, that prominent Saudis were allowed to flee the United States on special flights when air traffic was grounded after the attacks. It quotes the commission report as saying, "We found no evidence that any flights of Saudi nationals took place before the re-opening of national air space." Neither ad mentions that the commission also called Saudi Arabia "a problematic ally in combating Islamic extremism." Both spots end: "A message from the people of Saudi Arabia. Strong allies, committed friends." Some marketers ask if such ads, by themselves, can change any minds. Allyson Stewart-Allen, who heads International Marketing Partners, a London-based firm that helps forge trans-Atlantic business ties, noted that a U.S. ad campaign intended to raise the image of America in Muslim countries after the Sept. 11 attacks had sometimes met with a cool response. "Image building has to be an accumulative process, not something tactical, defensive," Stewart-Allen said. The Saudi ads are part of a broader effort in the United States that has been led by Qorvis Communications, a public relations firm based near Washington. Washington, meanwhile, is still searching for an effective public diplomacy strategy, as Condoleeza Rice, the U.S. national security adviser, admitted last week. Public diplomacy efforts have not been helped by a revolving door at the office of the under secretary of state for public affairs - vacant for the second time in less than two years, after the resignation last spring of Margaret Tutwiler. On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives' subcommittee on national security, emerging threats and international relations is scheduled to hear testimony from several experts on ways to improve America's image in Muslim countries. Keith Reinhard, chairman of the advertising agency DDB Worldwide and president of a private-sector initiative called Business for Diplomatic Action, is expected to argue that advertising has its limits. "Much as I suspect you are anxious to create effective messages from the U.S. government to the Middle East, I respectfully suggest that even with careful planning, such an effort is likely to meet with failure at this time," Reinhard plans to tell the committee, according to a text of his remarks. "Based on everything we know, the U.S. government is simply not a credible messenger." Instead of ads promoting "American values," Reinhard calls for education programs in Muslim countries shaped to local cultures and values. He also favors longer-term "bridge-building" efforts like increased corporate exchanges of interns between the United States and other countries. Government can help by providing incentives. Business for Diplomatic Action has created a guide for American students going on exchange programs. One suggestion: "It will be better if you don't spend your entire trip comparing everything to the States." Brett Gosper, head of the New York office of McCann Erickson Worldwide, is joining Omnicom's TBWA Worldwide as president of its TBWA New York Group. French Connection, the British clothing retailer, plans to drop its innuendo-laden "fcuk" logo from future advertising. The logo was conceived in 1997 by Trevor Beattie, creative director at TBWA London. But the company says the logo will still appear on some merchandise. |