AP (1-8-03)
New TV commercials link gas-guzzling SUVs to terrorism funding;
By NADA EL SAWY, Associated Press Writer

A group opposed to U.S. reliance on foreign oil on Wednesday debuted two television ads that try to link gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles to terrorist funding, mimicking spots that connect drug money to "terrible things."

One commercial features a child's voiceover connecting the dots between a man filling his gas tank and terrorist training footage. The closing statement: "Oil money supports some terrible things. What kind of mileage does your SUV get?" The other ad features talking heads commenting about their SUVs. One person says, "My kids think it's cool." Another says, "I helped blow up a nightclub."

The 30-second ads were created for The Detroit Project, a nonprofit launched by syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington. They will began airing Jan. 12 in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington and Detroit.

The ads were written and directed by Scott Burns, who was part of the creative team responsible for "Got Milk." They are intended to be humorous parodies, said Burns.

A few TV stations refused to run the commercials. Huffington said the stations found them "controversial." The ads will air on "Face the Nation" and "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

"This campaign is not designed to demonize SUV owners," Huffington said. "We want to encourage customers to connect the dots and make socially responsible consumer choices."

The Detroit Project was created by Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars, a group co-founded by Huffington, film producer Lawrence Bender, environmental activist Laurie David, and movie and TV agent Ari Emanuel.

In a November column, "Support Our Troops, Dump That SUV," Huffington wrote that Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham had warned that "reducing our nation's dependence on imported oil is crucial to our national energy security."

Huffington said she received more than 5,000 supportive letters and e-mails in response to her columns. The $50,000 cost of creating the ads was covered by thousands of individual small contributions. Major donors contributed the $175,000 to buy air time.

Opponents criticized the campaign's approach. Sam Kazman, general counsel of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, called it "elitist nonsense." The institute is a business lobby that favors a nongovernment approach to regulatory issues.

"(Huffington's) agenda basically is one of anti-mobility," Kazman said. "This is becoming a very common car that a lot of people are buying and some of them have perfectly valid reasons."