OpEd: America, Spare Arabs the Spin
By John M. McNeel, BDA Board Member & Worldwide Account Director,TBWA
International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2005
NEW YORK As an American advertising executive who ran a network of agencies in the Middle East for many years and who continues to frequently travel to the region, I have been struck by how wrong-headed most U.S.-led efforts to "win the hearts and minds" of Arabs have been since 9/11.
Most recently, the Charney report, sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, recommended spending tens of millions of dollars on advertising campaigns to reverse the rising tide of anti-Americanism in the region, as well as identifying U.S. aid with logos so that more are aware of American social and humanitarian contributions.
Quite simply, more slogans and more seductive images are the last thing this troubled region needs.
On a recent business trip to Cairo and Dubai, I had an opportunity to sound out a cross-section of Arabs working in the private sector and government on their views of the American administration's renewed public diplomacy efforts, following the appointment of Karen Hughes as under secretary of state for public diplomacy, to counter the resentment and skepticism that runs rampant in the Middle East.
The message that came back could not have been clearer: The time has come for actions, not words.
Although the degree of rabid anti-American sentiment would seem to have subsided somewhat since the days not too long ago that saw angry crowds ransack American fast-food outlets in Beirut and Cairo, bitterness and frustration continue to lie just beneath the surface.
Most worryingly, even the generation of young Arab professionals - many of them Western-educated, some even working for or with American corporations - seem to have lapsed into an entrenched cynicism about what is seen by many as American hypocrisy or, even worse, outright duplicity.
In this context, yet another advertising campaign - or even something as ostensibly innocuous as the U.S.-biased satellite channel Al Hurra - can only be seen as feeble (if richly funded) attempts to spin the truth so that an American perspective is cast in the most positive light.
The money talked about for potential advertising investment would have a better impact on America's image and credibility if it were used to create or support programs that brought direct benefits to the people of the Middle East.
In a region where up to 65 percent of national populations can be under the age of 25, providing opportunities to youth through scholarships, school funding, literacy programs and professional training would show a genuine, sustainable and measurable commitment to the future of Middle Eastern peoples. Any communication effort should begin without words, slogans, or advertisements and begin with a concerted effort to listen.
In the words of Keith Reinhard, who heads Business for Diplomatic Action, a nonprofit task force aimed at mobilizing the private sector for public diplomacy efforts and of which I am a board member, there is a burning need for the West to find tangible, effective means of "out-recruiting bin Laden."
Indeed, American business can play a vital role in this effort. By channeling the energy, talent, best practices and resources of our leading corporate citizens, beginning the process of building trust with Arabs can be taken to a whole new level.
Where the efforts of the U.S. government are so often met with outright doubt, corporations can bring their inherent pragmatism, optimism and resourcefulness to provide the people of the region with real examples of our desire to see the Middle East progress on a path to a better future.
These initiatives can include exchange programs for young professionals from the region, seed money for young entrepreneurs to develop businesses, internships in the offices of U.S. corporations in America or oversseas, or scholarships to the beest business schools.
The good news is that despite the rising tide of anti-American sentiment, American brands, business and culture continue to exert a fascination among young people from Damascus to Jidda.
Although it may seem counterintuitive for an executive who has built his career helping clients invest their marketing budgets in ad campaigns to recommend that the U.S. government not spend taxpayers' money in this way, I strongly believe that those funds can be more wisely used.
