More on the World Diamond Council Campaign

When the WDC launched its "consumer campaign" to counter the "Blood Diamond" movie, the people behind it swore they didn't want to make their campaign come off as "the industry versus the movie," as that would just make the industry look bad and guarantee more publicity for the film. But, of course, that's exactly what's happening. 

With that in mind, I call to your attention this comment from an anonymous poster who said he "works in PR" giving his two cents about the WDC campaign ….

De Beers' should be actively engaging there publics – by first and foremost - sharing in the outrage of the atrocities of 1999. Show some compassion…

Secondly, they should then help to educate the public about the mission and mandate of the Kimberly Process.

Third …They should OPENLY ADMIT that it is a process the industry struggles with but that they are trying to lead the way …(for god sake don’t say everything is coming up roses when we KNOW it is not).

Doing these things… in this order … will go a long way towards gaining favor with the public.

Crying incessantly about sales and the bottom line will do nothing but make De Beers' look downright evil and exceptionally guilty. And don't even get me started on those full page ads they are taking out … They should fire their PR firm Sitrick And Company.

The whole comment is here. The post it's connected is worth reading too.

One more thing, along those lines:

This whole "diamonds are doing good for Africa" tack the industry is pushing will not fly. It invites skepticism. People will watch a movie where kids are getting their arms chopped off, and then the industry is telling them "diamonds are good for Africa." Obviously, diamonds aren't always good for Africa, which is why we are having this discussion.

And yes, I know all about the economic benefits to Southern Africa. It's all true. But it's kind of off topic. They're talking Sierra Leone, we're talking Botswana. Any good things that derive from the diamond industry will not, in the consumer's mind, negate the bad. It's like someone who has been accused of murder pleading that he's been good to his family.

Maybe, if Ivory Coast was not at war, and the amount of conflict diamonds was actually zero, this tack might work. Maybe. But it will take a lot more than $15 million to convince consumers that Nicky Oppenheimer is Bono.