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.
...
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.
...
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."
...
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 ...
Fair Disclaimer: I proudly work for Russo Marsh + Rogers, Inc. who have been involved in this "The Other Iraq" and "Thank You America" campaigns in the United States.
Props go to you guys. Nice job. I hope Americans take notice.
Bump. Amazing.
Nice work. Bit of an emotional tug on the "Thank you" ad.
Kudos.
I saw the ad on TV a few days ago and really liked it. Good job.
Interesting.
It's going to be a neckjerker of a campaign.
"...attract investment and tourism to its northern Iraq region..."
Good frigging luck, folks.
For a people who lived under tyranny and oppression for so long... who had to live with horrific chemical weapons attacks, torture, military campaigns against them, to finally have that fear of the Hussein regime removed - and to be allowed to build their own future as part of a "new" Iraq, well, that makes those people extremely grateful to the United States and United Kingdom in particular.
The Iraq We Haven't Reported
That's better.
Haha! Indeed. I was impressed with the Post that they would even admit there was another part of the Iraq story that hasn't been shown to the American people. But, yes, you are correct, the headline doesn't explain that the reason we haven't seen it is because the media deliberately hasn't reported it!
But think about it: you have a region that rushes to embrace a democratic system (about 15 years in the running) and then says "oh, and we want to embrace a free market capitalist system and reward people who invest in our economy."
How can one NOT find that amazingly refreshing?
I saw this information some time ago, I really hope there will be enough funding to run these ads far and wide.
Great job!!
Magnificent.
MAJOR BTTT. How refreshing!
I do find it refreshing and amazing - for a tiny island of sanity in the middle of hell - but what kind of investment would be financially advantageous for a manufacturing operation? Maybe an AK-47 factory? Landmine assembly line?
Tourism? Same question: who and what attraction?
I'd be interested in having you flesh-out some of the thoughts for manufacturing and tourism...
BTW, I worked in NYC for 17 yrs at Grey Adv, Doyle, Dane, Bernbach, Trout & Ries, JWT, NHS and had a good time.
As for business: The attraction would be what the Kurds say - "a gateway" to Iraq and the region. Stability, security, allowing a company to base themselves there and service the region. In the immediate term it's about building up Kurdistan into a modern economic force... they just completed their international airport last year, and have signed deals with Microsoft, GM, IBM.
As for tourism: a lot of it is motivated on religious significance to a number of sites in the region.
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