COMMENT: Local views will aid in navigating creative minefield after 9/11

Advertising is clearly playing a significant role in America's catharsis. Patriotism (if handled appropriately) is bringing people hope. Agencies have taken the lead in understanding changing customer opinion, and a raft of new campaigns have helped Americans adapt to their new reality. Equally, Asian agencies need to lead their clients - but where to? For us, the task is deeply complex. Asia's reaction is multi-faceted, unexpected and at times perhaps even contradictory to that of the West. The result is that few clear patterns are emerging about an 'Asian' viewpoint. The key to reacting appropriately is to understand that different countries see the crisis from different points of view. Each sees the situation through a lens of their own concerns, and brings cultural assumptions that can be very unexpected. In much of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, Muslims view the US bombings in Afghanistan as an attack on them - even if they were horrified by the attacks on New York and Washington. US brands doubtless need to develop damage limitation plans, yet asking themselves all the while: is all what it seems? In Indonesia, for example, many people believe the anti-US rioters are being paid. Hong Kong and Singapore, perhaps true to their natures, seem gripped by the psychological impact of a recession that was already gathering pace before 9/11. So what advice can we give to those who want their marketing to be 'appropriate'? Above all, Westerners and expats need to recognise that for many Asians, 9/11 was not the rude awakening that it was for many of us. It didn't shatter the Asian sense of security (because few Asian countries would be direct targets themselves). It didn't alter the Asian perception of the world geo-political order (because Asia as a trading bloc and diplomatic entity is much what it was before). It remains largely, at this point, an economic catastrophe. Our marketing approaches must be born of this reality. We, as an agency community, need to understand the implications of the Afghan war from a local point of view. That involves talking to each other - agencies need to encourage a frank and uncluttered dialogue to harness local points of view. We also need to tailor our messages to address human problems, resulting from the crisis, from local people's perspectives - but we shouldn't feel the need to make the new reality a focal point if it does not belong. Already, recurrent news images of war and destruction are beginning to be seen as "boring", and there is a desire for happier, lighter imagery. And finally, we must remain constantly alert to hidden messages that might be conveyed inadvertently. One Indonesian bank is believed to have recently changed its ad layouts to depict local currency rather than US dollars. Little matter that Indonesians want to save dollars - the bank did not want to risk being seen as unpatriotic or too pro-American.

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