Iraq- Pentagon tries to learn from Madison Ave. Washington Post - MSNBC.com

'In the advertising world, brand identity is everything. Volvo means safety. Colgate means clean. IPod means cool. But since the U.S. military invaded Iraq in 2003, its "show of force" brand has proved to have limited appeal to Iraqi consumers, according to a recent study commissioned by the U.S. military.'

This is the observation of a Rand Corp report commissioned by the US Joint Forces Command. There seems to be some dry humor in the report, we particularly liked the 'We will help you' brand- wasn't that the underlying rhetoric back in 2003?:

'Helmus and his co-authors concluded that the "force" brand, which the United States peddled for the first few years of the occupation, was doomed from the start and has lost ground to enemies' competing brands. While not abandoning the more aggressive elements of warfare, the report suggested, a more attractive brand for the Iraqi people might have been "We will help you." That is what President Bush's new Iraq strategy is striving for as it focuses on establishing a protective U.S. troop presence in Baghdad neighborhoods, training Iraq's security forces, and encouraging the central and local governments to take the lead in making things better.'

This video must be part of the 'show of force' brand that apparently hasn't worked....