Halliburton's 'Bizarre Media Strategy'

"The chief executive of the Halliburton Company, Dave Lesar, never imagined that he would be the star of his own television commercial. But there he is, on the airwaves in Washington and Houston, assuring viewers that his company has billions of dollars in contracts to rebuild Iraq and feed American troops 'because of what we know, not who we know.' The unnamed 'who' is, of course, Vice President Dick Cheney, Halliburton's chief executive from 1995 to 2000. ... The advertising, Mr. Lesar added, will continue until the end of the presidential campaign 'because I don't believe we're going to disappear as a political story.' But at a time when President Bush's own campaign commercials have yet to start, the Halliburton spots - two are on the air so far - have created an awkward situation for the White House, which has not fallen over itself to embrace them. ... Donny Deutsch, chairman and chief executive of the Deutsch advertising agency in New York, called the commercials 'insane. ... 'This just puts a spotlight and a megaphone on the issue. ... It's a bizarre media strategy.' "