<nettime> marketing as retaliation: a capitalist proposal

[david turgeon <david.t@steam.ca>]

as the USA is about to launch the most massive "counter" terrorist attack 
of its history (okay, i just said that to sound dramatic), it may be time 
to remind its officials of a much more effective weapon in their own 
arsenal: mass-marketing.

particularly as the country is about to launch yet another act of senseless 
violence (cliché, dépassé) against people who are "against what america 
stands for" & as a result, effectively turning its propaganda against its 
own citizens (america's new war<tm>), it seems like a marketing campaign in 
afghanistan & more generally around cities with alledged terrorist activity 
would be much more fruitful & ensure a rapid, steady growth of pro-american 
sentiment in "difficult" demographics.

"america loves you", the poster ad might say amidst images familiar & 
comforting to local populations.  "america stands for freedom," the TV ad 
would explain (perhaps through the mouth of an afghan or pakistani father, 
appearing here with his family, in a solemn, calm voice), "be on the side 
of america, be on the side of freedom."  information would be given on what 
america really stands for, so as to get the message across once & for 
all.  banner ads on mid-eastern yahoo portals: "it's really that 
simple.  <image of a children>  make peace; don't support a 
terrorist.  <children smiles>"  & then loops.  really that simple, indeed.

the one caveat, however, is that misleading advertising always turns 
against you.  thus, the US would first have to hold back any kind of 
military retaliation.  instead, marketing analysts would be sent onplace to 
study the demographic, thus ensuring that a strong message with no 
unfortunate connotations can be created.  the "america loves you" campaign 
would then begin, under the auspices of a deliberate lack of military 
agression from western nations: the campaign echoing a burgeoning 
tendancy.  any marketer will tell you that's the best way to go (try as you 
might, you can't create demand, it has to exist latently somewhere...) 
whereas military agression from the US' part would destroy this demand, 
potential buyers instead going for the local competitor, who will then seem 
to have much more of a clue with their talk of weaponry & bombing some more 
of US' symbols of power in the name of you-know-whom...

unlike other solutions which don't seem to fit the US' capitalist agenda 
(commonly-heard comments: "too pink", "too green", "not enough boobs"), 
mass-marketing is capitalism's most celebrated weapon of assimilation.  it 
is the only battleground which they can hope to fully control.  in fact, it 
has kept its interior agenda under control for decades.  how could it not 
make wonders against terrorism?

~ david
"sarcasm under all conditions"

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