It will be interesting to see how the public will react to the Ad Council's new national multi-media PR campaign for US Homeland Security. Released last Wednesday under the specter of an 'Orange' terrorist alert, what makes the TV leg of the multi-media campaign stand out is not what the spots say exactly, but what they don't.

Usurping the Ad Council's iconic slogans and spokes creatures is the unblinking white face of secretary Tom Ridge, US Department of Homeland Security, and his strained call to arms: 'Be afraid or be ready'. Gone are the days of Smokey the Bear's 'Only you can prevent forest fires' and McGruff the Crime Dog's 'Take a bite out of crime'. Indeed, the impression given by The Martin Agency's pro bono seven-spot effort is that Americans should say so long to the days of whimsical animated PSAs.

Featuring Ridge and some heroes of 9/11, the scripted candor of the "unscripted interviews" was captured on three cameras by Hollywood-based Dektor Films DP/director Leslie Dektor. The series was edited from 24 hours worth of footage at LA's Hyena Editorial by Keith Salmon, and will go on to be broadcast via donated satellite and cable feeds to more than 90% of the US' cable-ready households.

True to form for political propaganda, there is little said, but much implied. Phrases such as "We need all Americans to be engaged" and "To ultimately be the victor in the war against terrorism" are oft repeated, while viewers are urged to "protect their children". There are no direct references to 9/11, or mention of who 'the enemy' is.

The television campaign has generated a lot of ink, being compared to the Cold War's duck-and-cover campaigns. According to the campaign's copywriter, and The Martin Agency's senior VP and creative director, Ken Hines, feedback has been positive and there has been considerable interest. "From the initial calls, and hits and views to the website - http://www.ready.gov - the numbers we have in are extraordinarily high." There have been no reports yet of exact numbers, or of how the campaign has affected sales of duct tape and cell phones.

At a time when US media is being criticized for its one-sided reportage of global affairs, and the US Defense Department is running a debt with more zeros than a speed dating junket, the $1.5 million dollar production budget (Alfred P. Sloan Foundation) seems a moribund attempt to drum up patriotism.

Asked how he feels about the finished product, Hines hesitates before saying: "[Creating these ads] was a huge responsibility. I think we accomplished what we set out to do. We struck a careful balance between informing and frightening people."

While the creative team wanted viewers to feel hopeful and empowered, Hines reserves his opinion as to whether he feels the television campaign achieves this: "My belief is immaterial. The secretary of homeland security and his communications team felt it was important to make some detailed information available to Americans. The purpose of the campaign was to direct attention to the website, which contains more detail than a television commercial could communicate."

CREDITS:
Client: Ad Council/ US Department of Homeland Security/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Agency: The Martin Agency, VA
CD: Mike Hughes
AD: Cody Spinadel
Agency Producer: Virginia Bertholet
Prodco: Dektor Film, Hollywood
DP/Director: Leslie Dektor
Line Producer: Marc Siegel
Post: Hyena Editorial
Editor: Keith Salmon