State Department Eyes Internet Ads

Source: O'Dwyer's PR Daily, August 21, 2003 The State Department has issued a request for proposals for "an advertising campaign targeting Arab-language media on the web with the goal of explaining U.S. policy in the Middle East," O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports. "As part of that work, State also wants to pitch its 'Rebuilding Afghanistan' Arabic site to show that 'the U.S. follows through with its obligations and promises,' according to a copy of the proposal. The two-month campaign would target seven to ten key Arabic portals, identified by the government to possibly include Al-Jazeera (Qatar), MSN Arabia, CNN's Arabic site, Asharq Al-Awsat (London), Al Bahhar (United Arab Emirates), and other sites based in Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Ads, which are to include banners, skyscrapers and pop-ups, are required to show the U.S. flag and the URL for the State Dept. website being pitched."