Pro-troops ads decried as propaganda New pro-bono “support the troops” ads by DeVito/Verdi are getting a pasting from some ad executives who see them as partisan propaganda. “I feel the war propaganda machine,” Paul Venables of Venables, Bell & Partners tells the San Francisco Chronicle. “They may feel like they have hit it. I can see the puppet strings.” The campaign, created for the U.S. Department of Defense and the Ad Council, uses the slogan “America supports you,” and sends readers to a DoD Web site, AmericaSupportsYou.mil, that has been up for a year and a half and is devoted to support for the U.S. military. Venables and others see political motives behind the effort. Ellis Verdi defends the campaign. “We approached this very carefully,” he tells the Chronicle. “You can have whatever viewpoint about the war that you want. In fact, we have a few different ones at the agency. It’s irrelevant. What’s important is that these are 18-year-old human beings, Americans, who are under stress.” Peggy Conlon of the Ad Council also argues that the ads are nonpartisan. —Posted by Tim Nudd

April 10, 2006 | Permalink

Comments

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Man. After reading Paul's comments, I figured the website must be embarassingly partisan. It ain't.

Now, I respect the work coming out of Venables a million times more than what Sal DeVito does on any given wednesday, but I have to admit these ads really are non-partisan. ANd frankly, pretty innocuous. A non issue.

But Paul's comments aren't.

When showing love and support for the poor kids who feel they have no choice but join this insane war can only be a reaction to gov't "puppetry" we're back to Vietnam, spitting on soldiers instead of the Rumsfelds of the world.

(And if you read Semour Hersh's article in the New Yorker, you'll see that the military is on it's last leg with this administration.)

Let's not take our eyes off the prize: the heads of the Neocons, on a platter.

Posted by: Dean | Apr 10, 2006 1:38:53 PM

I agree pretty much with what Dean said. I only take issue with him in his dissing of Devito's work. I think they've done pretty solid stuff over the years. If anything, I think they are somewhat underrated -- just as Venables is (slightly) overrated.

Posted by: Thulsa Doom | Apr 10, 2006 3:02:40 PM

Oh come on, think about this...if we're all so hyped up about alternative and seeded marketing, don't you think the Government would be way ahead of us? Do you really think they'd rely on something as insignificant as posters if they ever wanted to manipulate society?

Posted by: Stargause | Apr 11, 2006 6:35:11 PM

I'll put a little more weight behind Venable's comments when he drags his lilly white out of his Aeron chair, suits up in a 60 pound ruck, flies a world away from his family and gets shot at for doing his duty, like it or not.

Posted by: David | Apr 12, 2006 10:45:09 PM

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