Posted on 07/26/2006 10:18:56 AM PDT by Impeach98
A smiling child is part of the new ad campaign that Kurdistan hopes will bring tourists to the region.
The Iraq We Haven't Seen
The Kurdistan regional government is rolling out a national media blitz this week: "Kurdistan: The Other Iraq," complete with cable television ads, print ads and a national tour by the head of its development office to attract investment and tourism to its northern Iraq region.
"The Other Iraq" -- despite echoes of the pork industry's "the other white meat" ads -- was specifically chosen to counter "the public perception of Iraq as a violent and dangerous place" plunging into civil war with the "peaceful and prosperous" Kurdish region, according to the campaign.
So we see pictures of smiling kids, dancing people, a booming economy. And the campaign emphasizes that "not one American or coalition soldier has been . . . killed in the Iraqi Kurdistan region since" the war began.
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The ad campaign is the brainchild of veteran Republican public relations firm Russo, Marsh and Rogers, last seen in July 2005 doing PR for the "Truth Tour," a week-long trip to Iraq by conservative radio talk-show folks.
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Kurdistan, with its 100,000-strong pesh merga militia -- not a bunch you want to tangle with -- has been effectively independent since the 1991 Persian Gulf War. As former diplomat and keen observer Peter W. Galbraith noted yesterday in a New York Times op-ed, "The Iraqi army is barred from the region, the Iraqi flag [is] prohibited and central government ministries are not present."
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But for now, the beautiful mountainous area -- snow-capped peaks, even -- looks to be just about the safest place in the whole region. They even like Americans there.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Thanks for the ping!
BTTT
And proud you should be. I've seen some of the TV spots - they are superb! Kudos to all those involved with these campaigns.
May Kurdistan's light continue to shine.
Noteworthy bump! We should spread Christainity in Kurdistan.
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