NATO hires Coca Cola branding exec, page 1

NATO hires Coca Cola branding exec

www.politicalgateway.com

BRUSSELS, July 16 (UPI) -- NATO, the European-U.S. alliance, has hired a Coca Cola executive with experience in image-making and foreign policy to update its brand image.

Michael Stopford, a British-born U.S. citizen, worked for the United Nations and the British Foreign Office before joining the Coca Cola Company, The New York Times reported. He is expected to start work next month as NATO's deputy assistant secretary general for strategic communication services.

I swear, I had to double check the source to make sure I was not reading this story on The Onion.

NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Strategic Communication Services.
(I'll bet you $20 he has to use his business card as a cheat sheet for the first month or so).

"We are acting on the basis of public support," said Jean-Francois Bureau, NATO's assistant secretary general for public diplomacy. "It was true for the Balkans, and it's more important for fighting terrorism. If people don't feel that there is a link between what the soldiers are doing and their own security, then legitimacy is at stake."

If people don't feel that there is a link between what NATO soldiers are doing and their own security, perhaps there is a larger problem than a soft drink branding expert can address?

Actually I must confess, I mostly just wanted to poke fun at this story.
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Mebbe the big shot image-exec from Coca Cola can kill two birds with one bomb...it could look something like this:

Seriously, I can't wait to see the 'real thing'...

www.politicalgateway.com
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