Sell the Sizzle, Not the IED Attacks


Talk about your downward spiral--from "the defining conflict of the 21st century" to "selling the war as a brand identity thing." Good grief:

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." The 211-page study, for which the U.S. Joint Forces Command paid the Rand Corp. $400,000, was released this week.

Alas, every marketing campaign has a few concepts that just don't quite make the cut. I was able to get my hands on some.


The iWar®. Sacrificing Peace of Mind has never been so elegently simple.
"This is how you bury your war dead...um, oops--you're not supposed to see this."


Come sign up for a test drive of the all New and Improved Ford Pinto.
"My nightmare dream? To make it through a resupply mission without getting rear-ended."

And, of course

It's the Real Thing--death, destruction, and utter pointlessness.