Advertising 'Essential 2' Chemical Industry Image

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The American Chemistry Council is considering an advertising campaign by ad giant Ogilvy & Mather "that would convey to the American public how essential the chemical industry is to modern life." The chemical industry trade association saw the campaign proposal, which could cost several hundred thousand dollars, at its recent exclusive membership meeting, reports Michael McCoy in Chemical & Engineer News. Ogilvy's initial market research "shows that the campaign could really 'move the needle' on the public's dim view of the industry. ... The campaign's central theme is the word essential, which is linked in print to other key words with a subscripted 2, as in essential2knowledge, essential2makebelieve, essential2economicgrowth. ... A typical ad, titled 'essential2security,' shows a man holding a shooting target over his chest. Accompanying text informs us that the chemical industry is 'Fibers that make aircraft invisible to radar. Cloth that stops bullets. High-strength carbon fibers that build satellites. Nylon for parachutes and ropes,'" McCoy writes.