• Ad Age, Tuesday, December 12, 2006 11:46 AM

The Warner Bros. movie "Blood Diamond" has left the diamond industry furiously trying to do spin control as the trade group World Diamond Council launches a $15 million public-relations and education campaign to combat the film's harsh images of diamond smuggling from war-torn African countries.

"Blood Diamond" comes out during the heaviest selling season for the $60 billion-a-year diamond business. South Africa-based DeBeers, which markets more than 40% of the world's diamonds, has been front and center. While some watchdogs think a powerful Hollywood film could be the diamond business' worst nightmare, causing a boycott of the gems that movies and TV shows for years have glamorized, WDC hope that doesn't happen.

"We welcome the opportunity to talk about what's been accomplished in reducing the number of conflict diamonds to less than 1%," says a spokesman. The group's Web site touts recent reforms that claim to have taken most conflict diamonds out of circulation. While industry watchdogs agree that progress has been made, they say the percentage of conflict diamonds remains far higher than WDC's estimates.

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