Doing PR for a a complex organization is one thing. Doing PR for a country embroiled in two wars is no walk in the park.
So when Karen Hughes, the U.S. Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs talks of the "long struggle" ahead of her office to improve the image of the US abroad, she must really mean that it's a dirty job but someone's got to do it.
I admire the move the State Dept took with Dipnote, a blog that (I featured last month) lets people in those tough diplomatic spots in Lebanon, Iraq and Sudan talk about what they are up against. On this blog, Hughes talked about her new video (created for the State Dept. by Disney, of all organizations!) that addresses a problem/opportunity she had identified: The need to lay out America's welcome mat. Perhaps this message has not been communicated enough, considering the accusations of racial profiling, even by airlines. Perhaps all the talk about a fence around the border and Bush's backing a guest worker program has sent mixed messages that we are -selectively- in lock-down mode. If you've been outside any US consulate you'll know that these garrisoned buildings, bristling with security personnel and cameras are a necessary evil.
So what's a Public Affairs czar to do?
A video? To be sure it smacks of old-school advertising, and propaganda. Also, when you watch the happy people and slow motion images it comes across as too glossy, too Hollywood. To a first time visitor a few kind words from a visa officer at the embassy, or an airport baggage handler would sear a permanent image in my mind far greater than a video.
Hughes rightly talks of a the US as a complex tapestry, but as we know all to well, the threads of that tapestry are not spun by Madison Avenue, Wall Street, Hollywood and Pennsylvania Avenue. They are coming off the loom of real-time media and citizen journalists in other countries, the families of people caught up in wars and poverty blamed on the US whether we are involved or not. In the flat world, we are so intricately connected (woven if you will) a video will just not cut it.
I am reminded of a previous effort -the so-called Shared Values campaign that was created by ad woman Charlotte Beers. It was so far out of touch with the reality of what was going on at that time, it was halted. It's time to start looking for Disney-esque fixes to complex issues.
Link to original postLink to original post