In battle for public opinion, IDF Web site puts female face forward

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"The Israel Defense Forces has been putting its female face forward as it battles for public opinion in cyberspace.

The New York Times printed a blog on Wednesday showing that the army's English Web site features a self-updating banner with pictures of one glamorous female soldier after another, while the Hebrew site shows images of male soldiers.

Perhaps guided by the belief that pictures of smiling female soldiers present a better image of Israel than battle-hardened troops in combat fatigues, the banner features photos that would not seem entirely out of place in a fashion show.

One picture in particular stands out, as it shows a close-up of a female soldier with light-green eyes before a row of multi-colored bullets lined up like sticks of lip balm.

A glance on the Hebrew site shows that for the domestic audience, the IDF picked a photo of a male soldier wearing a prayer shawl and phylacteries, reading a prayer book."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1053561.html


Online, Two Pictures of the Israeli Military

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/online-two-pictures-of-the-israeli-military/?hp

[Captain Hilts]

1. The Tobacco Institute and NRA figured this out a long time ago. nt

[Mosby]

2. So have the pro-palestinian folks

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ed-asner/shminisitim_b_150043.html

Note that they picked the attractive female to profile even though there are other women in this group.

[PerfectSage]

3. I don't get it "pro palestian", she's an Israeli conscientious objector

In my opinion she is pro israel.

[Captain Hilts]

4. Ashwari, etc. nt

[azurnoir]

5. Didn't they use a picture of a girl in bikini for some promotion

a few years back, I can not remember specifically what it for but it was not a vacation poster

[Mosby]

6. Do you watch Mad Men?

They did what you describe in a first season episode.

[azurnoir]

7. Nope

don't watch much TV except for discovery and science channels, I think I am a Les Stroud groupie

[Scurrilous]

8. Babes and Bikinis: Israel Plans to Revamp Its Image

Israeli Officials Have Approached a Men's Magazine to Promote a More Positive Image of Their Country

<snip>

"All countries carry a certain stereotype: Some associate pasta and emotion with Italy, the queen and bad weather with Britain, flashing lights and high-speed trains with Japan, and conflict and religion with Israel.

Israeli officials at the consulate in New York have decided to try to rebrand the negative image associated with their country and have approached Maxim, dubbed America's most-popular men's magazine, to launch a public relations campaign to help them.

The aim of the project is to change Israel's image from a country associated with constant conflict to a different, sexy, fun and vibrant place.

The project began six months ago when Israeli officials in the United States discovered (through market research) that men between the ages of 18 and 35 were uninterested in Israel, and considered the country "irrelevant."

Maxim is going to run a special Israel edition this July that will promote the country to its 2.5 million readership, and the magazine hopes it will revamp Israel's image in the eyes of young American men.

A team from the magazine arrived in the beach town of Tel Aviv, Israel's tourism capital, this March for a five-day photo shoot. Top Israeli female models were hired to market Tel Aviv as a modern, vivid and "sexy city" -- a fun tourist destination. The young girls were photographed frolicking and posing in their bikinis on Tel Aviv beach.

"The aim of the campaign is to show the different faces of Israel," David Saranga, from the media and public affairs department at the Israeli consulate in New York, told ABC News. "The international media tends to concentrate on one dimension alone -- the conflict. We hope we can broaden people's view."

http://abcnews.go.com/International/Story?id=3091465&page=1