Kazakhstan Versus Borat: The David and Goliath of PR Battles

Sept. 29, 2006 — -- After months of battling the negative image created by a fictional Kazakh TV reporter named Borat, the government of Kazakhstan and its president are finally getting a chance to celebrate their highly anticipated trip to the United States.

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev will meet with President Bush today after what can only be described as a David versus Goliath public relations conflict that has pit the geo-political integrity of the post-Soviet nation against the popular, albeit crude, British comedian named Sacha Baron Cohen, the creator and face behind the fictional character Borat the Kazakh.

However, in a match without clear resolution, it is not readily apparent who is David and who is Goliath. In fact, it is a game of intense one-upmanship where the coveted "good press" is the lucrative reward in this unusual and very public symbiotic relationship.

With a recent public relations blitz perhaps unmatched since the fall of the grand self-promoting Soviet Union, officials at the Kazakh embassy in Washington have pulled out all the stops to build a positive impression for Americans on the eve the Nazarbayev-Bush talks.

"We have organized publications in print and TV spots on many channels to tell the story of Kazakhstan so that many Americans know how important Kazakhstan is for the United States and how important our relationship is," the Kazakhstan Embassy Press Secretary Roman Vassilenko told ABC News.

In the past week, Americans have seen pro-Kazakhstan newspaper advertisements, network and cable television advertisements, and the release of a new book by the Kazakh government called "Kazakhstan's Nuclear Disarmament: A Global Model for a Safer World" that, according to Vassilenko, is being hailed as the story of Kazakhstan's noble nuclear nonproliferation contributions.

Vassilenko says the PR campaign has gone hand-in -hand with President Nazarbayev's diplomatic meetings with former President George Herbert Walker Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, multiple congressmen, businesses partners, and religious organizations finally culminating with President Bush's meeting on today.