Susan Parenio

A good tagline can make consumers see an old product in a new way, said Boston University communication professor Sue Parenio."Pork, the other white meat" is such an example.For years, the pork industry attempted to make the case that pork was as healthful as chicken.Then marketers managed to get attention with a catchy phrase.

"Five words that reposition a product?Now that's a tagline," Parenio said.

Boston ad agency Arnold Worldwide did the trick in only two.It introduced "Drivers wanted" for Volkswagen in 1995, and sales soared at the automaker.

''She's the queen of branding , '' said a Boston University associate professor , Susan Parenio.

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Sworn in Oct. 2 as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs , Beers will need all her branding skills.

Her new assignment.Create an ad campaign that will pitch freedom and other American values to young people in Muslim countries and discredit the message of Osama bin Laden , all while the United States bombs Afghanistan. ''It's the battle for the 11-year-old mind , '' Beers told a congressional hearing last month.

Beers , who once led J. Walter Thompson Worldwide and Ogilvy & Mather , refused to grant an interview , but her public statements suggest she will ultimately deploy Madison Avenue techniques to wage an overseas propaganda war against terrorists.

In seeking to convince Muslims , many of whom are deeply religious , that America represents no threat to Islam , Beers faces a formidable challenge , academics and ad agency executives said.The gap between the two cultures is so wide that conventional methods that persuade Americans to buy soap , beer , and cheeseburgers may be inadequate.

But at Boston University , associate professor of communication Sue Parenio isn't sure that ads that combine patriotism and commerce can be both tasteful and effective.

''I think it's awkward to cross-breed , '' she said. ''Either go back to your regular advertising or make a corporate statement.But don't do both or you can hit a wrong note.''.

In the case of radio and TV , some ads that aired before Sept. 11 now run in new places.

"That is telling people this is a fresh, clean scent," says Sue Parenio, a Boston University associate professor who teaches creative advertising."That's what I would take away from it."

"She's the queen of branding," said a Boston University associate professor, Susan Parenio.

"It's not just the fan eating a burrito that the dot-coms are trying to reach," says Sue Parenio, an associate professor at Boston University who teaches courses on advertising."They're aiming at Wall Street investors.

"That is telling people this is a fresh, clean scent," says Sue Parenio, a Boston University associate professor who teaches creative advertising."That's what I would take away from it."

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"She's the queen of branding," said a Boston University associate professor, Susan Parenio.