Marketing to Terrorists

Back in May, I wrote about the filming of an anti-terrorism PSA intended to deter would-be suicide bombers in Iraq from their task. The spot (which can be viewed from the embedded YouTube window above) is now out, along with its accompanying campaign called “Terrorism Has No Religion.” It portrays the violence done by a suicide bomber who blows himself up on a busy street, with slow-mo Hollywood-style special effects.

Having seen the spot, my initial concerns about reinforcing just how effective bombs are in killing and injuring as many people as possible still hold. The PSA portrays the exact outcome that a suicide bomber intends; appealing to his humanity is not going to change the way he interprets the scene. And an ad on television (or a billboard or newspaper) is not going to have the same effect as someone’s imam telling them directly what they are expected to do to fulfill their religious obligations.

I also question the effectiveness of their slogan “terrorism has no religion.” I think if you ask people around the world which religion is most associated with terrorism, most will say Islam. If they are trying to convince non-Muslims with this slogan that Islam does not condone terrorism, they will come up against a lot of resistance. If they are trying to appeal to Muslims, the slogan makes no sense – shouldn’t it be turned around to “our religion has no terrorism” or something along those lines? The campaign seems to be trying to reach everyone, and in so doing is effective for noone.

While there is no information on the website about who has created this campaign, it appears to be Muslims who do not agree with the terrorist approach that many in their religion have adopted. They explain their message as:

To reveal the true and ample doctrines of Islam, and expose the contempt these terrorists hold for the spiritual essence of our religion. These terrorists and their ungodly way are the ones responsible for making Islam an easily marked target in the eyes of the world, as well as causing Muslims to be the subject of criticism before the world community.

The website and campaign quote verses from the Koran that directly challenge terrorist practices and appeal to religious values, which I had suggested might be effective in my original post because that goes to the heart of the issue. However, the television ad does not provide much reason for a suicide bomber to think twice about what he plans to do. Perhaps a better approach might be to show the bomber arriving in heaven eager for his 72 virgins and getting the door slammed in his face.

Rather than appealing directly to the suicide bombers themselves, this campaign might be more effective in changing the attitudes of people in the society who would not commit terrorism themselves but accept it as something that is positive (or at least just part of the normal course of events). If the bombers were no longer celebrated as martyrs and heroes by their community, it might become more unappealing.

I applaud the creators of this campaign for taking a stand against the dark forces of their religion (even though they do so anonymously) and wish them great success. I don’t think, though, that this campaign is going to do it.

You can read what others had to say about the campaign on Virtualpolitik and on Houtlust, where Marc collected opinions of bloggers from around the world about the campaign.

Technorati Tags: terrorism, suicide bombers, advertising, marketing, islam