This War Brought to You by “_______”
Proving we’re living in a new world where literally anything is an advertising opportunity, Leo Burnett– executing a campaign created by BBH– has hung wallscapes in northern Beirut promoting Diageo’s “Johnnie Walker” brand whisky.
Despite a Leo Burnett Chief Creative Officer’s assurances that the outdoor work was intended to “lift morale” in Lebanon (though to “raise spirits” would have been more accurate I think), I can’t help but feel like I need to bathe. Especially when, a few paragraphs later, the same CCO gives us a peek behind the curtain, saying that, “the attention that the campaign had generated on the Internet proved its cost-effectiveness.”
So which is it? Exploiting the ravages of war by attaching your brand to the destruction wrought; or attaching your brand to the ravages of war in order to exploit the Internet?
Forget the bathtub; get me to a toilet. I think I feel queasy.
Hat tip to the NYTimes for the quotes and to Adland for the wallscape image.
13 commentsEmail Article Monday, September 4th, 2006 at 09:44am Mack Simpson
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Technorati Tags: Advertising, Beirut, Lebanon, Johnnie Walker, Leo Burnett
