Many companies are wondering what to do about their product development, marketing, advertising and promotional activities. Advertising Age magazine described the feelings driving media decisions as muted and humorless.The often flippant and irreverent tone of the creative community was muted. The scope of the tragedy and the dramatic power of the images seen worldwide are going to take their toll.

Chuck McBride, executive creative director of Omnicom Group's TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco, believes the attack will make marketers more risk-averse in their approach to communications, and he expects them to adopt a more serious tone. He believes advertising will have to be very careful about its use of humor going forward.

But it wasn't just the United States that was pulling and rethinking their ad messages. In Germany, Gruner & Jahr's flagship magazine Stern yanked a campaign to promote its news coverage that made reference to Osama bin Laden bombing a U.S. embassy.

Reverberations from the terrorist attacks were felt as far away as Asia. An instant noodle company is replacing their TV commercial featuring an airplane with another version as soon as possible. Many other advertisers are also pulling noisy, flashy ads and instead running more low-key versions in their place, especially around news programs. Airline ads vanished virtually overnight.

Also in Asia and other parts of the world, ads relating to the United States or travel to the United States have been pulled indefinitely.

Advertisers and their agencies scoured their schedules for images that might seem insensitive in the wake of the tragedy. One travel company pulled an ad that featured pilots and flight attendants. Unilever dropped a detergent commercial in which a child talks about wanting to be a pilot.

Numerous companies have discarded any message relating to their company's products, or services and used full page advertisements to express grief, sorrow, and messages of hope.

While many things are being pulled, the sense of worldwide community came to the forefront. In Brazil, phone companies Embratel and Intelig created a toll-free number to allow people to contact friends and relatives in the U.S. Typical of the outpouring of sympathy for America was an editorial in French newspaper Le Monde that said, "We are all Americans. It's as though it's happening in our country, to us."

Transforming tomorrow

In putting together this 'Trend Talk' the focus seemed to be on what corporations are 'pulling' or 'rethinking.' While this is important information for companies, it is also important that we look at ways of 'moving forward.' I'd like to share with you the words of my friend, Dr. Terry Paulson, a licensed psychologist and professional speaker from Agoura Hills, CA, from his weekly ezine, "A Message Of Mastery And Patriotism In A Changed World."

"Today, change agents are called to be patriots--men and women of action! While we wait for and support our national leaders as they respond to this horrific act of terrorism against our land and our way of life, it is important that we as citizens do what we can. The depression of our age has been called learned helplessness--"There is nothing I can do that is going to make any difference so I might as well wait until they do it to me." There are true victims in this tragedy and our hearts and support go out to them and to their loved ones, but those of us who remain are not victims. We are survivors! Talking about ourselves as victims of terrorists encourages feelings of helplessness. The term "survivor" builds an image of someone who endures, lives through the challenge, persists and succeeds. Victims are passive while survivors are active."

Dr. Paulson shares some tips for making an active difference:

1. Start a solo on your own or join in singing "America the Beautiful!" Don't worry if you can't sing. God gave you that voice and he deserves to hear it.

2. Don't just believe in America, invest in American industry. If every American refused to sell their shares and, instead, bought 100 shares of stock or even invested $100 in a stock or mutual fund of their choice, we would send a message to the world--Americans believe in America and its future. After all, that's your future, the future of your organization, and the future of America you are investing in!

3. Pray alone and in your house of worship for comfort for those who mourn, emotional and physical healing for those in need, guidance for our actions, discernment for our leaders, and strength and safety for our military men and women. If you don't believe in God, try praying anyway--your may find comfort as well!

4. Buy things, enjoy ball games, work, create, travel, and live life fully. Take time to mourn and know that appropriate justice will take time and commitment, but get back to business and to life. The terrorists want us to put life on hold, but America is a nation of dynamic and vital people who embrace live...so seize the day!

5. Finally, take time with family and friends to talk, hug, cry, laugh and, even, tell them how much you love and appreciate them. Victims often want to isolate themselves. Survivors find community and use that community to heal and bounce back. While you are at it, when you see a policeman, emergency medic or fireman, take time to say thank you. We too often wait until memorial services to appreciate those who give their all for us every day.

Published: October 3, 2001

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Kathy Lamancusa is a trend strategis, professional speaker and author who tracks the forces that impact our lives. Over 1.6 million copies of Kathy's books are in print, and she has appeared on numerous television and radio shows including Oprah! She is a public speaker who can offer organizations entertaining and enlightening peeks into what is coming and what is shaping change so that they can better reach their own customer bases.