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War Brand

As BarinMD says, you don't know whether to laugh or cry.
In the advertising world, brand identity is everything. Volvo means safety. Colgate means clean. IPod means cool. But since the U.S. military invaded Iraq in 2003, its "show of force" brand has proved to have limited appeal to Iraqi consumers, according to a recent study commissioned by the U.S. military.

The key to boosting the image and effectiveness of U.S. military operations around the world involves "shaping" both the product and the marketplace, and then establishing a brand identity that places what you are selling in a positive light, said clinical psychologist Todd C. Helmus, the author of "Enlisting Madison Avenue: The Marketing Approach to Earning Popular Support in Theaters of Operation."

I don't know which is sadder. That we paid $400,000 for this study or that it took the Bushies four years of running a clusterfuck to realize that bombing the shit out of a country, killing untold numbers of it's citizens and generally turning the place in a cauldron of chaotic violence probably isn't the best way of saying "We're here to help".

Update: More from Libby.

(Filed at State of the Day)