Frustrated at the negative images of a broken economy, institutional corruption and rioting on the streets, Economides believed Greece could overcome its crisis by \u2018image management\u2019. What was required was a \u2018common brand narrative\u2019 where Greeks united under positive values. The country needed to own its vast history and put its best face forward. Ancient sites, Byzantine frescoes, kefi <\/i>every night in Plaka: there was rich material to use.<\/p>\n
The question is what should Greece focus on to restore its battered reputation? The fabled Greek Isles? Rich produce abundant in fertile fields? Greek hospitality? Those iconic qualities of Greek life have been severely dented since 2009 when George Papandreou told the world the coffers were empty and bankruptcy was a euro away. A little history will tell you the islands were not only for holiday-makers but were desolate places incarcerating political exiles in the 20th<\/sup> century. Food stuffs? Olive oil, a mainstay of the Peloponnese, has suffered bad crops and failing prices. Strawberries are now deemed \u2018blood strawberries\u2019 ever since exploited immigrants in Manolada were shot at<\/a> by their boss for daring to ask for their wage.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n And what of that vaunted hospitality? Greeks are locking their doors in the countryside, something unheard of prior to the GFC which set off alarms bells in the banking sector and ensnared Greece.<\/p>\n All this comes at a time when the Troika (EU, ECB and IMF) are demanding the Greek government reduce, slash and contract jobs, pensions, health and education budgets, but also to stall young dreams and horizons. Youth unemployment is reaching a staggering 70% and suicides are rampant.<\/p>\n Indeed, when German bankers arrived in Athens in June to check the decline of tax revenue due to public service lay-offs and a 23% VAT, it seemed the patient was dying and they wanted to get its cut of the death rites. Given this I\u2019m afraid rebranding Greece during the crisis is going to need more than \u2018image management\u2019, (a term one step to propaganda at its most Orwellian). Every nation seeks to present its better face to the world, its called tourism after all. But any nation worth its salt will escape branding, just as any individual will evade categories. Greece can\u2019t be confined to a single image anymore. Eliminate or create one image and another five will emerge, because Greece is a multi-headed Hydra. \u2018Everything is a brand\u2019 suggests Economides, but to brand a nation is to place it in a straitjacket. Coke is a global brand because it doesn\u2019t change, doesn\u2019t offend its consumers and does not ask them to be free agents. Isn\u2019t that the opposite of Greece, the birthplace of democracy, debate, and freedom?<\/p>\n In an effort to present its best face to the world, two words should not be forgotten in Greece of 2013: \u2018Golden Dawn\u2019. These neo Nazis are immersing themselves into mainstream politics, whilst their overt racism and violence is given covert police approval. Plans to build a mosque<\/a> in Athens proved the latest provocation to the far right.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n This is a disturbing sub narrative at the heart of Greece today and no white-washing by advertising gurus will put this ill back inside Pandora\u2019s Box. Deal with necessity first is an ancient proverb, because the rest is decoration. Create a state free of corruption, get a reliable tax audit in process, provide justice for all, re-invest in Greek social capital, and make a case to prioritize humans rather than spreadsheets. These boring minutiae are not the stuff of whizz bang campaigns but they are needed to clean the stables of previous skata<\/i>. Hercules can be upgraded to play a role in 21st<\/sup> century Greece, provided he isn\u2019t swayed by people in the know telling him all he requires is to smile at the camera whilst fighting monsters.<\/p>\n Images shift and change according to the circumstances but also according to the viewer, the other half of an icon\u2019s power. The sum of eyes that visit, read, think and dream of Greece means a collective perception at street level will always be more authentic than the one created at Madison Avenue. Greece is a work-in-progress, much like the Parthenon today held together by metal scaffolds. Old Greece, frail and in need of support is aided by the new. That is an image advertisers shy away from. Thankfully it\u2019s free of copyright and can be seen in the lens of tourists around me.<\/p>\n Jorge Sotirios<\/strong> is in Athens researching his book on the impact of the Greek crisis: Graffiti Over Marble, to be published in 2014. He is the author of Lonesome George, C\u2019est Moi! \u00a0A South American Odyssey<\/a> (Big Sky Publishing).\u00a0He can be reached at jorgedionysios@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"lonesome-george\"](\"http:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/wp-content\/dropzone\/2013\/06\/lonesome-george.jpg\")
<\/a>terrible context what images can advertisers conjure up to turn around Greece\u2019s tawdry reputation? How will newer Greek icons emerge? For one, celebrities were vouching for a Greek renaissance. On TV German academics claimed Greece was a guiding light to the future whilst Hollywood stars proclaimed their love of the ancient past. Importantly, feel-good ads were directed at a traumatized youth. Telco\u2019s were declaring \u2018together we can overcome\u2019 showing a bunch of healthy kids piled onto a bike. If that didn\u2019t work at least Coca Cola was being realistic. Its campaign was to \u2018believe in a better tomorrow<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n