PR Pros Tell Congress To Turn That Bailout Frown Upside Down

Congress and Wall Street just don't get it sometimes. The bailout that failed to pass in Congress on Monday had financiers and laymen worrying about job loss, stock market crashes, and drastically reducing our standards of living for years to come. TheSenate passed a modified version of the bailout last night, but did the original proposal fail because it was fundamentally wrong and constituents knew it -- or because lawmakers just didn't sell it right to taxpayers?

They take no position on the merits, but some PR professionals interviewed by AdAge say Congress needs to work on its pitches.

"'Bailout' connotes failure, and Americans hate failure," says Andrew Benett, CEO of Euro RSCG New York.

And what would convince America that state sponsoring financial institutions is the work of creative genius? A rescue plan:

"What if this had been called a 'rescue' from the beginning? Or the 'Save Our Homes Act'?
Supporting a 'rescue' is a bear of an entirely different species. It is not only a redemptive act, restoring things to their rightful order —
it is heroic."

Also, politicians need to get with the business of appearing to care. Quick, Nancy Pelosi — look busy!

"There is a need in the time of a crisis for the political leadership of the parties to appear to be solving the problem," says Lance Morgan, chief communications strategist at Powell Tate, the public affairs division of Interpublic Group of Cos.' Weber Shandwick.

So Congress, the next time we're on the brink of financial ruin, just take a step back. Count to ten and speak slowly when letting us know that our grandchildren will be shouldering the burden of our financial excesses.

"You can't communicate everything all the time," says Shandwick "but they are finally getting it right [now] because they have a little bit more time to explain."

And finally, Rich Masters, former Democratic strategist and partner at Qorvis, thinks Bush was the problem:

"The problem with this White House and Congress in general, is that they are like the little boy who cried wolf one too many times. The first rule of any PR campaign is to find the most credible voices you can to be your message deliverers. But unfortunately right now there is absolutely, positively no credible message delivery system at all."

Are you listening up Obama and McCain? Remember: Americans hate the word "Depression." Think of our short-term economic future as "The 2009 Dollar Diet" Saving America from financial obesity. One business at a time.

Photo: Flickr/Brett L.