As usual, the private sector is certain that it can do the government's job more nimbly and efficiently. In a recent column, Rance Crain, editor in chief of Advertising Age--one of the foremost trade publications for America's most self-regarding content-creators--argued that to combat the forces of extremism, America's creatives must metaphorically enlist in the fight. The headline: "To Battle Isis' Message, We'll Need Slickly Produced Content That's Just as Compelling." Like any good evangelist, Crain set the stage for his big takeaway with a confession of crippling doubt and weakness. Yes, dear readers, our ad savant had previously questioned Madison Avenue's ability to make a dent in the war on radical Islam, but his readers set him straight:

After my first ISIS column ran, I got an email from Stephen Feldman, CEO of Feldman Integrated Marketing, challenging my notion that advertising wouldn't change minds in such a standoff: "An industry that spends over $500 billion per year to inform, educate, persuade and sell cannot change any minds?"

It's a fair point. The ad wizards who convinced a nation that Subway is health food have a proven ability to fight wars of competing ideas. But are they up to this particular task? Crain's modern-day Don Drapers go on to suggest that someone create an anti-ISIS video celebrating "non-violent" Muslim heroes, featuring "a powerful music track created by a global artist in collaboration with a young Muslim star." And then, perhaps, the Coca-Cola polar bears can shuffle endearingly into the scene to tell the kids to stay in school (unless, obviously, that school is a radical madrassa).