Saleswoman for Uncle Sam

12 Nov, 2001 11:20 AM8 mins to read

An advertising guru is America's latest weapon in the war on terrorism. ANDREW LAXON on the marketing of Brand USA.

Most Americans can't figure it out. As President George W. Bush told FBI staff last month, the United States is "a nation of good folks" while Osama bin Laden and his network of terrorists are "evildoers."

So why do growing numbers of people in the Muslim world insist on seeing it the other way around?

Critics inside and outside the US have a long list of reasons - America's support for Israel against the Palestinians, the cruelty of continued sanctions against Iraq, the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia and the repressive nature of US-backed Gulf Governments.

In fact Mr Bush has made occasional noises about support for a Palestinian state since September 11. But the President has also made it clear he believes the real answer is much simpler - America has a great message for the world, and it's not getting through.

"How do I respond," he asked at a press conference, "when I see that in some Islamic countries there is vitriolic hatred for America? I'll tell you how I respond: I'm amazed ...

"Like most Americans, I just can't believe it. Because I know how good we are, and we've got to do a better job of making our case."

Or, as Republican congressman Henry Hyde wondered aloud last month: "How is it that the country that invented Hollywood and Madison Ave has such trouble promoting a positive image of itself overseas?"

Enter Charlotte Beers, a legendary advertising executive with no diplomatic experience, handpicked by the Bush Administration to sell America to a sceptical Muslim world.

Officially the 66-year-old Texan - famous in business circles for selling Uncle Ben's rice, Head & Shoulders shampoo and Gillette razors - is the Undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs.

Unofficially, the former head of advertising giants J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy and Mather - described by her peers as "the queen of branding"- is America's new minister of propaganda.

Mr Bush selected her for the post in March, long before the events of September 11 gave a vastly increased importance to her job.

The Senate held up her confirmation for six months but agreed to rush it through after the attacks as the Administration worried it was losing the propaganda war.

Her influence was becoming apparent even before the terrorists struck. On September 6, her chief, Secretary of State Colin Powell, told his staff at a conference: "What are we doing? We're selling a product. That product we are selling is democracy. It's the free-enterprise system, the American value system ... It's a product that is very much needed."

A Madison Ave veteran told New York Magazine: "When I heard Colin Powell talking about all that brand stuff, I thought, 'That came directly from Charlotte'."

Charlotte Beers has explained her job to Congress as redefining the identity of the United States "for audiences who are, at best, cynical".

Adult Muslims are apparently a lost cause, for the target audience is young - "It's the battle for the 11-year-old mind."

She says she would consider buying advertising time on Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based TV station which reaches about 40 million viewers around the Arab world.

And she has no hesitation about using the language and concepts of advertising, describing the selling of American values as "the most elegant brand I've ever had to work with".

For his part, Mr Powell has defended her utter lack of diplomatic experience.

"The Wall St Journal ... took a slight tap, suggesting that I hired somebody who used to sell Uncle Ben's rice to do public diplomacy," he told the Senate foreign relations committee last month.

"Well, guess what? She got me to buy Uncle Ben's rice. There is nothing wrong with getting somebody who knows how to sell something."

Charlotte Beers has a formidable reputation in advertising and business. The only ad executive to have chaired two of the world's top 10 agencies, she is also the first woman in 99 years to become chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. In 1992, Glamour magazine named her one of its "women of the year" for "cracking the glass ceiling in advertising".

New York Magazine, which notes that she and Mr Powell served on the board of Gulfstream Aerospace together, puts her success down to contacts.

"To be honest, she was very successful in advertising because she's a major schmoozer." a former colleague said.

Charlotte Beers says she gets "ticked off" by criticism from other women that her Southern charm has done nothing to help women be taken seriously.

"Yes, I call CEOs 'honey,' but to me, that's wry Texas humour," she told Fortune magazine. "I'm likely to say the most outrageous thing in the room - to liven things up."

The prospect has many diplomats shuddering. "We saw it as a bold and interesting appointment," said one, code for a disaster waiting to happen.

Others worry that her appointment simply misses the point.

"You can't boil down America into a slogan," warns William Rugh, president of amideast, a Washington organisation that promotes understanding between the US and the Middle East.

"America isn't a single product - it's not Coca-Cola. If Charlotte Beers thinks America is a product to sell, that won't work."

Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez complained that "our image already stems in part from the perception that our foreign policy is a form of propaganda constructed by and for American corporations; that the McWorld we have constructed benefits wealthy Westerners at the expense of the world's poor".

Lopez noted that the White House was also talking to Hollywood about a short film called Hollywood Celebrates the Spirit of America to support the war effort.

"Has it occurred to anyone that the foreign marketing of mindless dreck that has made cultural icons out of the likes of Steven Seagal, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone is part of what makes us a source of such contempt?"

To be fair to the ad agencies, it has. Charlotte Beers herself has rejected the term "selling" as "way too arrogant for where we are now" and committed herself to opening a dialogue of mutual respect and understanding instead.

Advertising executives in America - and those contacted by the Herald in New Zealand - were almost unanimous that any War on Terrorism ad campaign would have to reject conventional methods, since advertising itself is seen by many Muslims as part of the US-Western decadence they despise.

"A TV ad about 'America the Beautiful' that simply says 'We're here to help' isn't going to achieve much," says Harvard Business School professor John A. Quelch, author of Business Strategies in Muslim Countries.

Advertising experts here and in the US say the first step is to listen to the target audience. In Auckland, Colenso BBDO creative director Mike O'Sullivan suggests Charlotte Beers should start with focus groups of both middle-of-the-road and hardline Muslims in the Middle East countries the US wants to reach.

Most professionals recommend a serious, no-gimmicks approach. Several, including Mike Hutcheson of Saatchi & Saatchi Auckland, believe American Muslims should be used for credibility.

Mr Rugh, of amideast, a former US ambassador to Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, says real people are the best way to get the message across.

"It's very powerful when an American Muslim stands up in front of a Saudi audience and says, 'You know, America may look to you like a non-religious society, a society hostile to Islam, but I can tell you, having lived there, that Americans are open and respectful of religion, including Islam'."

Former chairman and CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East John McNeel adds that the Bush Administration is not making a hard campaign any easier to sell.

He says the President's line that "You're either with us or you're with the terrorists" plays into the hands of the killers, who wanted the September 11 attacks to polarise world opinion so moderate Arabs were forced into the anti-American camp.

Others think the idea of America spreading its message is right but the medium of advertising is wrong.

Lee McKnight, associate professor of international communications at Tufts' Fletcher School, recalls the days of the US Information Service (motto: "Telling America's story to the world"), which was folded into the State Department in cost cuts after the Cold war ended.

He points out that legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow was put in charge, with a brief to tell it straight.

"It was crucial that newscasts were objective and instilled trust in the listeners. That was a big reason for appointing Murrow, whose whole reputation was based on independence. Over time, this strategy was successful and helped win the Cold War.

"You just can't have marketing and propaganda. You just can't craft TV commercials. If that's all you're doing, you're going to fail."

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