Jewish Agency/MASA change course on ad http://blogs.jta.org/ENTRY_PERMALINK_HERE/jewish-agency-changes-course-on-masa-ad/ The Jewish Agency and its MASA program have decided to drop an ad that sought to alarm Israelis about assimilation in North America. The Forward’s J.J. Goldberg explains why some were outraged by the commercial. en-us aeden@jta.org Copyright 2009 2009-09-08T;18:51:01-05:00 Comment by Dannyb ejewishphilanthropy@gmail.com I’m afraid your tax dollars, or NIS, are funding these mistakes. MASA receives approximately 50% of its budget from the Israel’s government. I’m afraid your tax dollars, or NIS, are funding these mistakes.
MASA receives approximately 50% of its budget from the Israel’s government.

]]> 2011-02-25T;01:28:00-05:00 Comment by Chevy Weiss chevy@globalvisionsisrael.com I agree with Gary 100%.  The problem is not the creative in this ad, it is the strategy.  I find it hard to believe that strategic research indicated that Israelis will see this ad and run to promote the message among their Anglo contacts.  I do understand the huge Israeli base living in the US that still watch Israeli tv for sports and still surf Israeli internet.  But I don’t believe that is the target audience for MASA. One of the problems with the large Jewish agencies is that they are so convinced that they know best, that they don’t conduct the proper market research.  Or perhaps they have the information; they just don’t use it properly. Time and time again we see mistakes in the implementation of campaigns.  I hope my tax dollars in Israel aren’t going to fund these kinds of mistakes. I agree with Gary 100%.  The problem is not the creative in this ad, it is the strategy.  I find it hard to believe that strategic research indicated that Israelis will see this ad and run to promote the message among their Anglo contacts. 

I do understand the huge Israeli base living in the US that still watch Israeli tv for sports and still surf Israeli internet.  But I don’t believe that is the target audience for MASA.

One of the problems with the large Jewish agencies is that they are so convinced that they know best, that they don’t conduct the proper market research.  Or perhaps they have the information; they just don’t use it properly.

Time and time again we see mistakes in the implementation of campaigns.  I hope my tax dollars in Israel aren’t going to fund these kinds of mistakes.

]]> 2011-02-25T;01:28:00-05:00 Comment by Gary Wexler gwexler@passionmarketing.com The link to this story is certainly making the rounds. I have now received it from about ten different people. The problem here is not the TV spot or its concept. The actual spot and its concept is pretty interesting. The problem is the strategy. If MASA believes that Israelis are one of the strategies to recruit Diaspora Jews to commit to an Israel program, then the TV spot is a total waste of money and time.  Does anyone really think that by seeing this TV spot, Israelis are going to run to their computers, bring up the MASA website and start sending out links to their relatives???This type of strategy, in order to have a prayer of success, requires among Israelis a deep and strategic community organizing effort, hands on education, identifying Israeli influencers who can tap into their Israeli networks and a host of other labor intensive initiatives.  It is naive and wasteful of hard raised dollars to use them in such an non-strategic manner. The link to this story is certainly making the rounds. I have now received it from about ten different people. The problem here is not the TV spot or its concept. The actual spot and its concept is pretty interesting. The problem is the strategy. If MASA believes that Israelis are one of the strategies to recruit Diaspora Jews to commit to an Israel program, then the TV spot is a total waste of money and time.  Does anyone really think that by seeing this TV spot, Israelis are going to run to their computers, bring up the MASA website and start sending out links to their relatives???This type of strategy, in order to have a prayer of success, requires among Israelis a deep and strategic community organizing effort, hands on education, identifying Israeli influencers who can tap into their Israeli networks and a host of other labor intensive initiatives.  It is naive and wasteful of hard raised dollars to use them in such an non-strategic manner.

]]> 2011-02-25T;01:28:00-05:00 Comment by Avraham Zuroff avrahamzuroff@gmail.com American Jewry had better smell the coffee. There’s no need for the Jewish Agency to apologize for offending American Jewry. How many of your grandchildren will remain Jewish? How many American Jews have ever visited Israel, even once? How many Jewish American college students don’t care whether the state of Israel would cease to exist? Please correct me if my perceptions are incorrect. I hope that they are! A concerned Israeli Jew American Jewry had better smell the coffee. There’s no need for the Jewish Agency to apologize for offending American Jewry. How many of your grandchildren will remain Jewish? How many American Jews have ever visited Israel, even once? How many Jewish American college students don’t care whether the state of Israel would cease to exist? Please correct me if my perceptions are incorrect. I hope that they are!

A concerned Israeli Jew

]]> 2011-02-25T;01:28:00-05:00 Comment by David Talbot talbotnotes@gmail.com David Schimel has it right.  This was a message, in Hebrew, for an Israeli audience.  Very few words in Hebrew have exact English equivalents, and commonly used expressions in Israel have little or no significance in America, even among those who know Hebrew.  This is not unique to Hebrew.  Any message like this should be viewed, and understood, from the perspective of the intended target market. David Schimel has it right.  This was a message, in Hebrew, for an Israeli audience.  Very few words in Hebrew have exact English equivalents, and commonly used expressions in Israel have little or no significance in America, even among those who know Hebrew.  This is not unique to Hebrew.  Any message like this should be viewed, and understood, from the perspective of the intended target market.

]]> 2011-02-25T;01:28:00-05:00 Comment by Vlad Observer yancher@sbcglobal.net You don’t have to understand Hebrew to understand the ad, which is very articulate. But I doubt it’s very effective in US. Only strong ideology, religious affinity or physical proximities like in ghettos (sorry for that) can keep people together outside of Israel. You don’t have to understand Hebrew to understand the ad, which is very articulate. But I doubt it’s very effective in US. Only strong ideology, religious affinity or physical proximities like in ghettos (sorry for that) can keep people together outside of Israel.

]]> 2011-02-25T;01:28:00-05:00 Comment by david schimel nhrds@earthlink.net This is absurd. Virtually no American Jews will see let alone understand this Hebrew ad appearing on Israeli T.V.  What this shows is the incredible obtuseness of some American Jews like JJ Goldberg to hearing the unvarnished truth about the trajectory of US Jewry as its lunges to oblivion through an ineluctable process of assimilation. It’s time to stop being in denial and to start to get real about the condition of American Jews. This is absurd. Virtually no American Jews will see let alone understand this Hebrew ad appearing on Israeli T.V.  What this shows is the incredible obtuseness of some American Jews like JJ Goldberg to hearing the unvarnished truth about the trajectory of US Jewry as its lunges to oblivion through an ineluctable process of assimilation. It’s time to stop being in denial and to start to get real about the condition of American Jews.

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