Winning friends and influencing enemies

By Van Mitchell, Stillwater NewsPress
March 13, 2005

An Oklahoma State University researcher says effective advertising could make the United States more popular around the globe.

Jami Fullerton, associate professor of advertising, said the principles of advertising that help sell goods and services can also be applied to promoting ideals and changing attitudes.

Fullerton is researching the effectiveness of television commercials in improving international attitudes toward America. The research attracted national attention last fall when it became part of the U,S. Senate subcommittee hearing on public diplomacy and was published in the Journal of Advertising Research.

Fullerton is testing commercials developed in 2002 by the U.S. Department of State as part of a public diplomacy campaign known as the Shared Values Initiative. The commercials aired in several Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia for two months, but the campaign was discontinued.

Fullerton thinks the decision was premature.

"At that time, State (Department) makes it sound like they plan to run them again, but they were never run again and Charlotte Beers, advertising guru and undersecretary of State who developed the campaign, resigned a few weeks later," Fullerton said. "Politicians, pundits, journalists and others are still criticizing the effort, saying that America isnít a brand that you can sell like Coca-Cola.

"There are also other issues about why the ads were pulled, including the fact that the U.S. government was gearing up to invade Iraq and many of the Middle Eastern governments refused to run the ads on their state-owned broadcast networks because they said they were propaganda.

"Based on my research, I think that the ads could have been effective in changing attitudes among some people living in Muslim countries about America, assuming the ads ran for a long enough period on a frequent enough basis," Fullerton added. "The spots aren't a magic bullet - but I believe that advertising should be considered as one tool in public diplomacy."

In studies in London and Singapore, participants were asked for their attitude toward the U.S. government and Americans before and after the commercials, Fullerton said. Results revealed a significant attitude shift after viewing. A Hong Kong study is being planned.

"These findings are really exciting because I feel this kind of research could have an impact on public diplomacy by opening the lines of international communication," Fullerton said.

"This research is part of a broader effort that examines the role of mass media, particularly advertising, in the war against terrorism, including the role of entertainment media in creating anti-Americanism and the impact of anti-Americanism on the success of U.S. brands overseas."

Fullerton said a focused, concentrated, consistent ad campaign could help set the stage for Americaís diplomatic efforts by telling Americaís story to the world.

She said she hopes to write a book about her studies.