The Competition

[ljplicease]

Apparently IdeaBank has some direct competition. Chuck asked me to check them out. I'm not entirely sure why he wants me to bother. He is often asking for advice which he doesn't follow. Anyway, I found this anecdote using The Competition.

When Richard Nixon ran for President in 1968, the Vietnam War was at its height. One of Nixon's TV commercials showed a photo of an American soldier in Vietnam with the word "Love" written on his helmet.

The image bothered Harry Treleaven, one of Nixon's media advisors. "It reminds them of hippies. They don't think it's the sort of thing soldiers should be writing on their helmets."

So another of Nixon's PR guys had the photo taken out of the ad and replaced with a picture of a soldier with a plain helmet.

The commercial's producers were frustrated. "It was such a beautiful touch," said one. He thought it was a very interesting soldier who "would write 'Love' on his helmet even as he went into combat."

A week later, Nixon's team got a letter from the mother of the soldier. She said she was thrilled to see her son in the ad and wondered if she could obtain a copy of the photo. The letter was signed "Mrs. William Love."