According to the executives, including Robert Wehling, retired global marketing officer for Procter & Gamble, and John Romano, Hollywood writer and producer, the US could do a much better job of promoting its point of view.
Wehling told the House Internal Relations Committee hearing that an advertising campaign could be effective, but warned, "It is unlikely that there is a single message that will resonate throughout the Arab world."
He recommended that the government target women, particularly mothers.
Romano warned against propaganda, advising instead that TV shows about the US present the country fairly. He suggested the government might consider original programming, such as a dramatisation of the Bill of Rights.
PR expert John Leslie Jr, chairman of Weber Shandwick Worldwide, said it was "unrealistic" that the US could sell itself to the Arab world in the short term. "We can make a strong case that Osama bin Laden and terrorist organisations in the Muslim world haven't just hijacked aeroplanes, they are trying to hijack Islam itself," he said.
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