Aid Money Goes to PR Effort to Highlight Aid [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
"The U.S., which saw positive PR results from the millions donated to Indonesia after the tsunami [3] devastation in May, wants a PR firm to spread awareness that Uncle Sam has given over $1 billion to the archipelago over the last 50 years." The U.S. Agency for International Development [4] requested proposals for a $350,000 to $370,000 campaign promoting American efforts "in partnership with Indonesians to generate prosperity and a better quality of life." The contract includes research, polling, public service announcements and "other aspects of a social marketing campaign." APCO [5], Ogilvy [6] and Weber Shandwick [7] already work in Indonesia, a majority Muslim country and key U.S. ally in the "war on terror [8]." In Britain, rights campaigners are criticizing [9] their government for inviting Indonesia and other countries with "dubious human rights records" to the Defence Systems and Equipment International [10] arms exhibition [11]. Indonesia was on the "uninvited list" from 1999 to 2004.