It’s hard drumming up support for war, especially a war as unpopular as the war in Afghanistan. The war effort is especially unpopular in Germany where a poll last year revealed that 70 per cent of Germans want their forces pulled out.
As a PR-tactic to increase support for a continued presence, the popular talk show host Johannes B. Kerner brought his entire crew down to Afghanistan to co-inside with a visit to the troops by defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.
The plan was to interview the minister and the troops in an on-location talk show, a program that was expected to be watched by millions.
This seemingly fluffy plan backfired totally when it transpired how much the production had cost the German army, and thus the tax payer.
17.000 euros was the final price tag, and the already war weary Germans, were not amused.
The Ministry of Defense had been open about the talk show being a part of their PR effort to gain support among the people and in parliament, but instead it resulted in a plethora of negative articles of the extravagant spending.
Not exactly PR gold.
If you speak German, you can see the talk show here:
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