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Abstract
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In October 2002, the U.S. Department of State under the direction of
Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and former advertising
executive Charlotte Beers launched a first-ever public diplomacy
campaign featuring television spots promoting the happy lives of
American Muslims. The advertising campaign, known as the "Shared
Values Initiative," ran on a limited schedule throughout the
Middle East and Asia through January 2003. This article attempts to
assess the reactions and feelings that international viewers have
toward the commercials and, to the extent possible, evaluate the
effectiveness of the commercials on changing international
audiences' attitudes toward the United States.International students from various countries who were enrolled at
Regents College in London, England in the summer of 2003 constituted
the sample for this study. An experimental design, similar to those
found in World War II propaganda literature, was employed to measure
their attitudes toward the U.S. government, the American people, and
their perception of how Muslims are treated in America before and after
viewing the State Department commercials. The international
students' reactions to the spots in the form of an advertising
copy test are also reported.
Language: en |