COMMENT: Agencies must help clients understand impact on consumer

<p>A bright, sunny autumn morning at 8.40am. The plane turns towards </p><p>the city, glinting through the early morning haze. Now at only 5,000 </p><p>feet, and falling fast, we are 30 seconds flying time away from the </p><p>tallest tower in North America. But this is October, not September, and </p><p>Chicago, not New York. An everyday moment on a business trip assumes </p><p>enormous significance for me, after the images of the last few </p><p>weeks. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The impact of September's events has caused those who make a living by </p><p>communicating with the public to review what it is they are saying. It's </p><p>easy to see why a Jackie Chan movie due to be set on the top of the </p><p>World Trade Centre would have to be re-written. But even everyday </p><p>events, and subtle messages, can affect us in unintended ways now. As a </p><p>result, a number of advertisers have switched messages to avoid causing </p><p>distress. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>TV ads that proclaimed "Finally" when announcing a relaunched detergent </p><p>are seen to be missing the mood. Brands that tell people how to feel </p><p>seem insignificant against the devastation. Even "Just do it" could be </p><p>take on new meaning. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The same is true of media buying. Some of the best spots to buy were </p><p>during the news shows. That, too, has changed. Juxtaposing everyday </p><p>household items with graphic imagery is not good for business. The </p><p>capacity for TV networks to dwell on those deeply shocking moments will </p><p>affect the US audience for years to come. Commercial gain is temporarily </p><p>seen as unedifying. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But how has it affected those not in America? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Certainly the TV images penetrated Asia with the same ferocity. In most </p><p>of Asia, the news broke mid-evening - perhaps sparing us from some of </p><p>the trauma that comes with watching the same scenes, over and over all </p><p>day. And then there's also the concept of national grief and how it </p><p>might be affected by a Confucian view of the world. Certainly it didn't </p><p>take long for some commentators to observe that the immediate, personal </p><p>and financial effects were being talked about more in Hong Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Yet, as with most generalisations about the region, the image of an </p><p>unmoved Asia is not correct. Each country and each culture will react in </p><p>their own ways. In Hong Kong, a cable TV company was censured for using </p><p>the image of the Twin Towers on fire only days after the event. Cathay </p><p>Pacific has cancelled the forthcoming ATP Tennis event, seeing it as </p><p>'inappropriate'. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But the downturn in air travel of the last three weeks was ended </p><p>abruptly with the usual Mid-Autumn festival crush at the region's </p><p>airports. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>With our insatiable curiosity about the human condition, advertising </p><p>people have a responsibility as well as an opportunity. Being </p><p>responsible, we owe it to our clients to get to grips with how this </p><p>global event has impacted upon, and moulded, local consumers. The </p><p>opportunity is to fashion communications that are more in tune than ever </p><p>with how people see their lives in the weeks and months after September </p><p>11. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>