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What do you think of when someone says, “Ireland”? Shamrocks, Guinness, Irish whiskey, castle ruins, and a rousing drinking song. Maybe you think of rain, craggy cliffs and crashing waves, and Riverdance. And, of course, there are the requisite leprechauns and pots o’ gold. One thing is for sure: everyone has a firm mental image of Ireland.

Madison Avenue has helped the U.S. government fight everything from wartime foes to teen smoking. But now that Washington is locked in conflict with ISIS, a deadly enemy with sophisticated propaganda skills, adland seems very far from the front. Where are the country's best communications professionals during the propaganda battle of our time?

A group of eight WPP agencies have banded together to launch a multimedia campaign for Al Gore and the Climate Reality Project in an effort to prompt global leaders to reduce carbon emissions in the days leading up to the U.N. Climate Summit on September 23.

The Guardian has agreed to run an advertisement accusing Hamas of "child sacrifice" as another British newspaper, The Times, came under fire for refusing to print it. The ad, written by Nobel prize-winning author Elie Wiesel, calls on U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders to condemn Hamas' "use of children as human shields."

Colombians have a message for the world: Stop misspelling our country's name. Seriously, it's not that hard. It's Colombia, NOT Columbia. The simple reminder has grown into a global campaign. Sure, it's just one pesky vowel, but, in this case, the difference between an "o" and a "u" is the difference between respect and disrespect.

Have sex to save the country. That's essentially the meaning of the "Do It For Denmark" campaign sponsored by travel company Spies Rejser. One of the ads (seen above) frets that Denmark's birthrate is not looking so hot these days and is at its lowest level in decades. 

More than a century ago, Theodor Herzl wrote a book in which he described Israel as an old new land. For the public, with its archeological digs and religious sites, Israel definitely conjures images of the old. The new, not so much.

This year’s Super Bowl commercials viewed collectively paint a picture that the vast majority of Americans are progressives on hot button items from immigration to gay rights. Gone were the sexist spots of Super Bowl pasts. Even domain site seller GoDaddy and mens grooming line Axe dropped the Playboy ethos for “Kumbaya” humor. With 30-second commercials going for for $3 million a piece, Madison Avenue minds decided their money is best spent on positive images of men, women, boys and girls that celebrate diversity and equality. From Cheerios to Toyota that is the message that sells.

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